Timebomb Central
by Rowe1
Summary: Manticore had one final parting shot, and it causes devastation in TC
1. Prologue: Something rotten in the state ...

Timebomb Central

By Rowe

Disclaimer: This is only inspired by the characters that peopled Dark Angel. They belong to James Cameron and Fox.

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Prologue: Something rotten in the state of TC.

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A lone figure paced back and forth with visible urgency. Inside his mind a fierce debate raged. The instinct to find a quiet secluded place had been overwhelming. His logical mind was confused as to why he was being forced into this. Still, here he was alone in an isolated sector of TC, definitely against his conscious will. Something was driving his actions and he could feel that he had barely any control left.

Continuing to pace more frantically, tears started to fall. This was the end, he knew it. He could do nothing to stop it. His hand reached behind his back and drew his gun from his waistband. As his pacing finally stopped he angled his pistol….

A single shot broke the silence of the rundown warehouse. If anyone had been near they would have heard the accompanying thud as the body slumped lifelessly to the floor. As though unimpressed the world around the body settled back into deathly silence.


	2. Chapter 1: Fear of the unknown

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Timebomb Central

By Rowe

Disclaimer: Unfortunately Dark Angel and its characters (including Alec sob..) remain the property of Fox and James Cameron.

A big thankyou to the lovely Kiwi for her beta job.

Chapter 1: Fear of the unknown

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Mole didn't like it that once again he was to be the bearer of bad news. As their leaders, Max and Alec would need to be informed of the latest news when they got in. It hadn't been the first and it certainly didn't look like it would be the last given the pattern that had been established over the past few weeks. This was the tenth unexplained death within TC's walls. The mystery just continued to grow and take on a life of its own. 

The others in headquarters were nervous, the fear was coming off them all in waves. Edgy glances were being thrown over shoulders. People were definitely scared. Rumours were beginning to circulate. All wild extrapolations on the truth and fuelled by paranoia. Was it a serial killer? Was it something more sinister? It was the lack of an apparent enemy that was terrifying these highly trained soldiers so much. There was nothing they could face and defend against. As sketchy information filtered down amongst them it made them even more worried. What were their leaders keeping from them? The atmosphere was becoming increasingly more tense. It was even starting to effect the daily running of Terminal City as small fights broke out over insignificant disagreements.

So far all the victims had been X's but that didn't mean anyone was safe. Mole could understand the fear he could see in his comrades' faces. He felt it himself. Deep in his mind he was worried as to whether this was some insidious form of psychological warfare. It was only going to escalate further unless they solved what was going on and quickly. Otherwise White would become the least of their problems, they would become their own worst enemy.

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As Max entered the room she could feel that all eyes were on her. Tempted to turn tail and leave again, instead she strode towards the table in the centre of the room where Mole, Dix and Joshua stood huddled. Their body language spoke volumes. Maybe she shouldn't have bothered getting out of bed, it obviously wasn't going to be a pleasant day.

Mole tensed as Max approached. He contemplated the wisdom of waiting for Alec to show up before telling her of the latest victim. Max wasn't a patient person. With some reservation he decided to let her know straight off. Mole chomped hard on his cigar butt, even that wasn't soothing his nerves these days.

"There's been another one. The body was found in an abandoned warehouse near the perimeter. Single shot, same M.O." He succinctly reported to her the facts, no point in sugar coating them for her. "As far as we can tell, death occurred in the last 24-48 hours." Max's face became even more grim than usual as he relayed to the news.

Another body, another death, within the walls of their so-called sanctuary from the hostile world. To Max it was quickly beginning to resemble a prison. One where someone, or something, appeared to be stalking them, taking them out one by one. 

"Any signs of a struggle?" She needed to find some clue for her mind to analyse, to allow it to deal with these deaths. At the shaking of Mole's head her shoulders slumped. That was the most confusing aspect of all these recent fatalities- the evidence suggested that only the victim was present. Manticore didn't go though all the trouble to make its soldiers just to allow them to self-destruct. Their survival instincts alone were strong enough to reduce the risk, but thorough training had been carried out to make sure that it would not be an option. So what was happening here? The pieces of the puzzles just kept being tantalisingly out of reach. She just wished that Alec would hurry up and get here so they could something, anything, to at least feel they were dealing with this with some authority. He had been elusive all week.

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He looked a mess. He registered the fact and then dismissed it as irrelevant. No one was going to see him anyway. He'd make sure of that. Dreams had started to invade his sleep in this past week. No, not dreams, nightmares really. Each had concluded with his own death. To say that this had been unsettling was an understatement. It had to have been triggered by what had been going on in Terminal City but it rattled him no less. Even trying to still his mind with this logical explanation had done nothing to reduce his stress levels. Sleep was not a comfort now, it was becoming something to allow to happen only out of necessity. Fine for someone given shark DNA in their cocktail, like Max, but he needed his beauty sleep to be able to keep operating at optimum levels. Well to be able to keep operating at all.

Pacing back and forth in his apartment he was beginning to feel like a caged animal. The worst part was the cage was in his own mind. Now, that was somewhere that it was not so simple to pick the lock and escape from. He had even contemplated knocking himself unconscious to get peace for a little while. Losing sleep this past week for fear of dropping over into some mental abyss was really taking its toll. Even alcohol had proven useless, in fact only enhancing the images further. The vividness of these had woke him screaming already and their intensity only seemed to be increasing.

He was now that on edge that he was no good to anyone, especially Max. His self imposed house arrest was because he knew that he was not in a fit mental state to deal with her confusing angst driven behaviour with any patience. He was likely to snap and do something violent. Especially to Logan who hadn't taken the hint and left when it had started to turn nasty. So instead he avoided them and paced endlessly in his own room. Vainly he had hopes of exhausting himself enough that when sleep overcame him it would be dreamless, allowing him to escape the demons currently haunting him in his own head. 

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As Logan whirred into T.C. headquarters he could feel the hostility towards his presence. The level had been slowly rising since this new crisis had begun. He got it, he wasn't stupid. He was an outsider. Spotting Max, he moved over to where she stood with the others to update her on his research. Logan really didn't want to tell them what his research had revealed. It implied that things were far bigger and more dire than they had imagined. His sources had been able to supply him with details that rather than making the situation clearer, would be inclined to cloud it in more confusion. Information from other cities and even Canada had been found. Most were coroner's reports, some were just hearsay. The barcode tattoos were the common factor, along with a single gunshot wound. Clean and efficient. It sounded like a hitman to him.

Logan's approach forced Max to turn around. She was grateful for his help, and for him risking his health to stay in the toxic dangers. He always seemed to be able to help them with information that their informant net, albeit a fledgling one, was unable to unearth. Unfortunately for their relationship, unlike when she had been a lone transgenic loose in Seattle, she was now amongst her own people. She no longer felt the same comfort in his presence that she had felt prior to revisiting Manticore. It had reminded of what she was, and that was most certainly not human. He couldn't understand, not really, what it felt like to be hunted for who you were. Now, this latest spate of deaths was making his presence awkward as many objected to his presence. They were closing ranks, a good survival instinct. Trying to pin a smile on her face she greeted him. He went into detail on the stack of reports he handed her. She shuffled through them, looking at the photos as he spoke. She was surprised at the number of seemingly related deaths all over the US and even up north, some of the faces even looked familiar to her. As she came to the bottom of the pile she froze. The blue face in the photo, a roughly taken coroner's picture, was her own.


	3. Chapter 2: A little too close for comfor...

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Timebomb Central

By Rowe

A big thankyou for your great beta job, Sorrow Reminisce

All my fics are also posted at The Broken World and Gumboot Mafia. These are where you will find my NC17 chapters and are the places I first update.

Chapter 2: A little too close for comfort

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Sam. Her twin was dead. Max felt a twinge of pain. For her this girl was genetically the closest thing to a real sibling that Manticore had produced. They hadn't gotten off to a very good start but by the time she had left with her family, Max had started to really want to know the girl who looked exactly like her. Now it was all too late and there were no second chances. Though Sam was someone she had only known for a short while she had never given her the impression she was in a hurry to die, especially by her own hand. How could things have possibly gone so wrong? The sheer enormity of the situation hit that bit closer to home. She needed to talk to Alec. They would need to follow up on Sam's final movements. It was all rather gruesome but it might just be the lead they had been looking for. Her husband might even be able to shed some light on the situation.

Max checked over the jotted notes in the report, the section describing her barcode confirmed that this was indeed X5-453. The accompanying police report described similar sorts of circumstances to what they had been finding here in TC; the body was found in an isolated area, the death appeared to be from a single gunshot which through powder residual analysis was deemed to have been self-inflicted. The coroner had ruled out foul play and assessed it as a suicide. Max looked up at Logan with tears in her eyes. So far the victims had all been people she had barely known. This changed things, making it seemingly more real. 

She shuffled back through the other reports. Skim reading through them she could see no other patterns emerging. Well, not any that could be readily identified. Turning to Dix she proffered the reports to him. Maybe he would be able to use them more constructively. 

"Start creating a database. Try and see if there is any link, no matter how tenuous between them. We need to nail down anything, and I mean any little thing, we can." They needed something more than a pile of dead faces. They needed answers and they needed them fast.

She was starting to get angry with the absent Alec. Why did she have to deal with this without him? He was as much responsible for these people and their wellbeing as she was. When it came to logistical planning he was far better equipped than her with training. She was more of a people person anyway.

Max turned to Logan and nodded at him, "Thankyou for this." She needed to acknowledge his help. "We will try and decipher the reports, but thankyou for getting back to us with so much so quickly." She dismissed him with a smile and turned back to the others to start making plans. 

They couldn't wait indefinitely to start getting something happening. Inside she was totally on edge. She knew her face gave her away. Looking around she could see that the others surrounding her in headquarters shared one thing, on all their faces was a hunted fear. Her body was demanding action. She would give Alec 5 more minutes before she went after his sorry ass.

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The voices in his head were reaching a deafening level. He sat slumped in his chair, physical exhaustion preventing him from pacing any further. Valiantly he struggled to cling onto consciousness, to stop from slipping over into the darkness that beckoned him with promises of horror. Running his hands over his face and up through his hair, he could feel his vision beginning to blur. His eyes were raw from all the hours he forced them to stay open. He was beginning to feel rather desperate cause he knew sleep was coming to take him again.

The slight nodding movement of his head he couldn't control. It was working him into almost a trancelike state and slowly relaxing him into submission. His body was screaming at him to relinquish control but he couldn't, he just couldn't face the terror again. His head slowly connected with chair back and he lost his battle.

The footsteps were getting louder. He had run for hours but the hunter kept managing to track him down. His exhaustion was making him clumsy and he stumbled. He heard the ominous tread quicken. This sinister figure was relentless. With horror, Alec knew he was cornered. Turning he dropped into a fighting stance and prepared to face his stalker. As the light silhouetted the shadowy figure as it entered the door, dread settled at the pit of his stomach. He somehow knew this was the end. For some reasons he knew he would fight, and then he would die. A sense of deja vu hung in the air, he couldn't put his finger on it but his memory tingled as though he had been here before, lived this before. The hunter stepped forward into a shaft of light and his face was illuminated. It was his own. 

The brisk knock at the door startled him awake. Normally, he would have heard the footsteps as the visitor had approached but his mind was too numb to analyse the data it was receiving. He groggily turned towards the door. Before he could utter a word the knob turned and the unwanted and uninvited visitor entered. The one person he believed he could not face.

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When Max barged in it was to see Alec, slumped bonelessly in the armchair in his apartment. The feverish look in his eyes and the totally wretched look on his face made her pause. She was shocked by his physical state, seldom had she seen him looking in less than perfect form. The dark circles under his eyes and the prolific stubble on his face told a story of pain and suffering she feared to hear. It stopped her onslaught of words from falling, from adding to whatever haunted him. 

As she moved towards him he flinched away, shaking his head. She stopped confused. Scanning the room she could see nothing out of the ordinary, perhaps it was a little messier than usual but nothing threatening. Looking back to him she began to move to his side again.

"No!" The desperate edge in his voice halted her. The fear and horror in his eyes tore at her heart. "Stay away from me."

"Alec, what's wrong?" She spoke as soothingly as possible to him, trying to calm him, to reassure him that everything was alright. The panic was still in his eyes. He just shook his head wildly, almost as though trying to shake something away. She took a step back and he seemed to relax a bit. Max realised that whatever was wrong with him she needed help. Continuing to back slowly out of the room, she realised how much Alec looked like a wounded animal cornered and confused. Closing the door behind her, she took off at run for headquarters. She needed to find Josh, he might have a chance of getting through to Alec.

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Max entered headquarters and scanned the room for Joshua. His tall figure was standing next to the much shorter one of Dix. She darted through the bustle of people towards him. This was urgent and Alec needed their help, even if he was too stubborn to ask for it. Josh saw her coming and smiled at her till he saw her more panicked than usual expression. She saw him start to move towards her but someone was blocking her way.

Logan saw Max dash in. He moved as quickly as he could to intercept her. So quickly in fact that she hadn't seen him move into her path and nearly collided with him. The frustrated glance she threw at him surprised Logan. As did her curt "Not now." He watched her retreating back as she dragged out Joshua talking animatedly at him as they went. He looked around quickly to see who had witnessed his dismissal, but all eyes were discretely focused on the tasks at hand.

Joshua was still a bit confused as Max clutched his arm tightly and pulled him in the direction of Alec's apartment. She was talking at him with some urgency. Something about Alec looking sick and needing help. The bits about him looking like an animal he just wasn't getting. He got her to let his arm loose when he made her realise he was following of his own accord. Together they hurried back to their friend. 

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As Max once again entered the dim room, her eyes searched out Alec's lean figure. He was no longer in the chair she had left him in. Briefly she went into panic. Had he left while she had been gone? A slight movement in the far corner of the room drew her eyes. Hunched and whimpering sat a shadow of the man she knew. Gone was any trace of the cocky self-assure smart aleck. In its place was a broken and deeply distressed transgenic.

Beside her Joshua gasped in horror when he took in the sight of his friend. Moving slowly as not to startle him, he made his way across the room. The low growl that emitted from the shivering man's throat at his approach was frightening. How far gone was he that he could react so primitively? Keeping moving forward, Joshua reached Alec's side and carefully took hold of his shaking form. As if the effort to hold his body upright became too much, Alec collapsed into Joshua's arms. 

The tears that were on his face broke Max's heart. She went to approach her two friends but Alec recoiled again when her saw her move. Standing frozen in the middle of the room, she stared helplessly at Alec. It seemed her presence was distressing to him but she didn't want to leave. She looked to Joshua for some idea as to what she should do. 

Joshua saw the look of anguish on Max's face but he knew Alec needed him more at the moment. Speaking calmly her told her to leave them for a while. He would find out what was wrong. He watched as she took a long time assessing whether she thought this was right and almost sighed with relief when she agreed to go.

The moment she left the room, Alec's body relaxed even further. Joshua took his chin in his hands and spoke quietly, soothingly to the confused transgenic. 

"Why is Alec so messed up?"

Seeming to lift out of his daze Alec looked straight into the canine-trans humans eyes and spoke with certainty.

"I saw the killer." 

He looked away for a moment as he remembered the nightmare. Looking back he granted Josh's request for the reason he was a basket-case.

"It was me." 


	4. Chapter 3:Confusion in the cloisters

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Timebomb Central

By Rowe

A/N: Thankyou goes to the woman who wields the tazer for getting my muse in line and betaeing this.

Disclaimer: The DA concept belongs to Fox and James Cameron

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Chapter 3: Confusion in the cloisters…..

Joshua cradled the X5 gently in his arms. What he had just told him didn't make a hell of a lot of sense. He brought one large paw up to stroke Alec's hair, attempting to soothe him, calm him, into a more rational state of mind. As he felt Alec's body relax he loosened his grip slightly but quickly tightened it again as the weight of the X5s body slumped bonelessly. Sleep had finally claimed the troubled mind, Joshua breathed a sigh of relief. Unbeknownst to the big transhuman, it was the one of the things that had terrified Alec the most.

The tremors started almost immediately after Alec lost consciousness. As did the muffled groans and horrified whimpers. Joshua tried to hold him still but could see that all he would end up doing was hurting Alec. He couldn't tell what was going on in the man's mind but quite clearly it was killing him. Alec had lost a tremendous amount of weight in a short time. If something was frightening the X5 into feeling so out of control that he wasn't eating, this was serious. Picking his gaunt body up effortlessly, Joshua made his way out of the apartment. His friend needed help, more help than he was going to be able to give him.

Max was slumped dejectedly against the opposite wall in the corridor. She was up quickly and alert when she heard the door open. Her senses had been focused on the room trying to pick up a clue as to what was happening in there. When Joshua came out carrying Alec, she was quickly at his side. Taking in the unconscious man she immediately needed answers from Josh. She had been mulling over Alec's reaction to her and it made no sense. Why would she scare him? 

"Is Alec alright?" She looked at the whimpering man and watched with concern as his body continued to twitch uncontrollably in Joshua's arms. Her hand reached up to try and soothe the furrowed brow on Alec's face, but Joshua turned him away from her. Somehow, he sensed Alec would not want her to be showing pity to him, he had shown his need for space from her earlier and Joshua was going to respect his wishes now.

"Big Fella need to get Alec to the infirmary. No time to talk to Max now." Joshua brusquely brushed aside her inquiry, more intent on getting the man in his arms to medical help as quickly as possible. The convulsions were getting stronger and carrying the man without dropping him or injuring him was getting increasingly difficult. He didn't have time to explain it all to Max at the moment.

"But Josh…." Max stood a little stunned as she watched the retreating back of the canine Transhuman. He normally indulged her when she wanted information, this did not bode well if he was so worried about Alec that he could dismiss her so easily. Shaking herself out of her musings, she ran to catch up. Maybe she would get answers from the med team. At the very least, they would be able to calm him down enough to let her talk to him, to let her work out was going on. The way Alec had reacted to her had cut deeply. She hadn't treated him that badly, surely. Moments flashed through her mind. Times when she knew she had been less than fair to him about things. With a grimace, she realised that the mood she had been in when she had gone looking for him had been fairly hostile as well. Maybe she would have to rethink about how she treated him, maybe give him a little bit more respect. Especially of late, he had earned both her respect and trust, but she had been rather slow in showing him her gratitude for his presence.

Seeing her catching up to him, Joshua indicated for Max to go on to the infirmary and alert the medical staff that he was coming. At least that way they would be ready when he got Alec there. As she blurred ahead, Joshua let out a sigh of relief. He had things he needed to think about before he talked to her about what had happened. There were a lot of things he had to try and sort out in his own head. Alec was obviously dazed and confused when he had blurted out his claim. However, with the current climate of paranoia that had seized Terminal City, it would do well for such things to be kept quiet. He would need to talk to the med team about keeping anything Alec said quiet too. It would be just the thing to set off chaos if one of their leaders was telling everyone he was the killer. 

***

Joshua lay Alec down on the examination table and backed away as the med team moved in. He caught sight of Max hovering and took hold of her arm to pull her out of the way. Now was not the time for her to be trying to act in control. The medicos needed to be able to do their work without either of them getting in the way. Joshua winced as he saw them take out a needle and fill the syringe with fluid before injecting it into Alec. He had an innate fear of hypodermics from Manticore and their sadistic experiments. The convulsions racking Alec's body quickly eased till he was lying quietly on the table. His face had gradually relaxed also till he looked to resting in peaceful slumber. Whatever demons had been chasing him had lost their control over his mind for now, though that was only cause the drugs had taken him out.

The head of the med team, Angel, approached Joshua and Max with a very perplexed look on her scaled face. "We have sedated him for the moment but he seems to be locked inside a rather horrific place in his mind. He needs to be kept sedated till his body recovers a little from the extreme sleep deprivation he is suffering from….that alone could be enhancing his hallucinations. Leave him with us for the next 24 hours. Then we will bring him back to a more conscious level. Do either of you have any idea what could have brought this on, or how long he has been in this state?" 

The look on Joshua's face was closed and shuttered. He shook his head in response to Angel's questions. Alec had always been really closed off about personal problems. Whatever had happened to him this time was unknown to him. It would not be the first occasion he had imploded with his friends not knowing the cause. Once again he had put himself in danger by not sharing with them. The boy needed to learn to trust them more. To admit he wasn't 'always alright'. Medium Fella needed to realise they were there for him, always, even Max. 

Max also shook her head in response. She had been too wrapped up in what was happening with these strange deaths to have taken more than perfunctory notice of Alec's behaviour. Admittedly she had seen less than normal of him this last week. It was as though he had deliberately been avoiding her. Most probably was, given the reaction she had received earlier from him. A wash of guilt rushed over her, she was supposed to be the man's friend and he had fallen apart without her even noticing it. Maybe he had given off a cry for help that she hadn't even realised. She was so going to kick his ass for not telling her more clearly when he was okay. Looking over at his still body, she shuddered, that was if he was going to be okay. The question must have formed on her face cause Angel went to reply to her unspoken question.

"We can't be sure but he is caught in a tight mind fugue. He needs to be snapped out of it. If we can't work out what is going on when we get him out, there is no telling whether he won't just drop right back into this mental abyss he has fallen into." She hated relating bad news to anyone but Max was especially bad at taking the hard facts.

"Leave him with us and we'll do what we can." She ushered the two worried companions out of the cubicle. Concerned friends were good but they sometimes got in the way of the healing.

***

Headquarters was deathly quiet when the two of them entered. Word had already passed around that something had happened to Alec. The stories, of course, had been blown out of proportion till he was now being counted as the latest victim to the death count. Realising that she had to do something to clear the air and get people back on track, Max called out to them all to listen.

"Rumours are not the answer people. Alec is safe in the infirmary. I know that this thing has us all scared but the only way we are going to deal with this bitch is together. Don't fall apart on me now. We are all soldiers, we will beat this." Her attempt at morale boosting was only partially successful. The clap of Joshua's hand on her shoulder as he stepped up to the plate to attempt to help was welcome.

"Friends, we are strong, Alec is strong. Let's stop this bitch, work as a team to solve the mystery. Who is with us?" His more motivated tone revved the crowd up and a chorus of more enthusiastic reactions echoed around the room. People dispersed to carry out their assigned task, and the air in the room had turned to one of confidence. They needed to believe that they were capable of stopping this.

Joshua signalled to Mole to accompany him and they moved over to the corner to talk. 

"We need to keep an eye on Alec. Our friend is confused and maybe needs our help. Don't want to let Max know. Alec most definitely does not want her help." Joshua relayed a little of what had happened to the lizard man, who stoically listened.

"Boy is loco, sure that crazy strain was proven to not be genetic? He is not our killer. There is no way in hell he is. He left Manticore behind a long time ago and is definitely no killer these days. The boy's too soft. No problems Big Guy, we look after our own". Mole took his cigar out to signify how serious he was about what he was saying.

***

They had moved him into another bed when she came back. She hadn't been able to stay away the 24 hours. That nasty little niggling worm of guilt was still present in her gut tormenting her. As she moved into the room, she cautiously hugged the walls. She hated seeing him like this, strapped down and sedated. His normal vitality seemed to have been sucked out of him leaving a grey lifeless body in its place. He was almost as colourless as the flaky walls of the infirmary. Alec could be one hell of a pain in her ass but she preferred that to seeing him like this any day. 

Moving closer to the bed she reached out her hand to stroke Alec's cheek. He was cold and clammy to touch. The overwhelming sense of despair she felt surprised her. She had never given up before. This time however, she knew she was missing a vital part of her new-found post-Manticore life, he was lying on a hospital bed totally out of it. Bending down she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead before leaving the room. A bemused smile crossed her face as she contemplated her softening attitude to the smart Alec of a breeding partner that she had been assigned, oh so long ago. Who had changed most, him or her? 

Joshua hadn't been very forthcoming on what had happened after she had left them alone in the apartment. He knew something, she could sense it, but he had been deliberately vague about what was wrong with Alec. She had been made more suspicious about his reluctance to tell her when he and Mole had gone off into a corner to talk. They had conversed at a level that they knew that she, even with her enhanced hearing, wouldn't be able to pick up.

"Alec is fighting Alec. Medium Fella is all lost and confused." That was the extent of what she had managed to get out of him after they had left the infirmary. All very ambiguous and most of it she had worked out herself. Well she certainly knew Alec was fighting something, but she needed him now, more than ever. She hated to admit it to herself but she did need him, a lot. What rotten timing. 

Dix had come back to her with information and she needed Alec's help to get out there and deal with the leads she had. She couldn't leave TC totally leaderless, especially with morale at such a low ebb. Her instincts told her that it was all relevant to what was happening to Alec. Problem was she didn't know what the connection was. She hated to think on top of all this that Joshua was keeping her out of the loop about something. The paranoia was definitely contagious, but she needed to maintain her trust in her friends. Her own words from earlier came back to haunt her.

"…._the only way we are going to deal with this bitch is together."_


	5. Chapter 4: Conscious but not awake

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Timebomb Central

By Rowe

Disclaimer: The DA concept belongs to Fox and James Cameron

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Chapter 4: Conscious but not awake…..

Mole stepped back into the doorway behind him as Max exited the room. He didn't want her to see him, or to realise that they were having Alec watched for his own protection. He had been kind of startled when he has watched moment of tenderness towards his unconscious friend. Maybe under that cold bitch exterior there was a heart after all. In truth, he humoured her in her delusions of leadership. Alec was the one he believed in and trusted. She always seemed more interested in doing the right thing by the ordinaries. Mole shook his head at all the times she had unintentionally done the worst thing by T.C..

He watched as she strode down the corridor and right up into Angel's face demanding attention. A smirked crept across his face as Angel continued on with what she was doing for another minute before allowing Max to have her focus. Obviously he wasn't the only one who got a little peeved with her diva antics.

"Is he showing any signs that you can help him with?"

"Max," Angel let a sigh of exasperation escape before she could stop it. "I told you earlier, we will need to let his body recover before we try to assess him further." The patient tone was bordering on patronising but Max was obviously not willing to listen to the doctor anyway.

"He will be more awake in a few hours. I would prefer that you weren't here initially. We aren't sure what triggered the episode in the first place. " The crest fallen look on Max's face was augmented by a guilty tinge. Angel sought to reassure her, without giving her false hope.

"Whatever is wrong with him, we will do our best to get him back quickly to the Alec we all know and love." She placed a hand on Max's arm and smiled at her. There were no guarantees and they both knew it. Though it wouldn't help Alec one iota if they all just dropped their bundles. 

Max straightened her shoulders and crisply shrugged herself back from Angel with a look determination on her face. It was as though a mask had dropped into place, and this Max meant business. 

"Fine, do what you can. Keep me informed. I have to head back to headquarters anyway. Things that need to be done and won't get done with me hanging around here."

Turning quickly she strode stiff backed out of the door. Mole watched and stifled a little laugh. Well, the bitch was certainly back. He moved back to his position near the door. There was no way he was going to let anything happen on his watch. He placed his cigar back in his mouth and lit it. The growl from Angel down the hall hit his ears within seconds. Ignoring it he continued to puff away.

*****

Terminal City head quarters was not the place to hide out. Too many eyes watching to gauge your reaction and to follow your lead, Max decided. Angel's words had stung her. Maybe she was to blame for Alec's condition. Why else would he have been avoiding her all week? The way the others were treating her made it see like they had reached that conclusion too. Joshua still wasn't meeting her gaze, Mole seemed to have disappeared and Dix was the only one who seemed to be still fine talking to her. She hated being out of the loop.

Dix approached Max as she sat hunched up in a chair staring blankly at the computer screen in front of her. He didn't want to interrupt her but he knew that she was desperate to hear anything she could on his database search. 

"Max, I have been able to track down Sam's husband. He's agreed to meet with you, to tell you all he can. There are some others that she spent time around that he said he would introduce you to. Maybe they can help us." He shrugged hi shoulders. "Cause other than all being from Manticore, I can see no other connection between the victim's deaths." Dix looked apologetically at the figure who was only half listening to him.

She turned and attempted a grateful smile. It only half worked and came across as more of a grimace. She saw the look of consternation on Dix's face as he turned to move back to his station, and reached a hand out to touch his arms. He turned back towards her." Thanks, Dix. Sorry, I am a bit preoccupied." This time her smile was a little less grim and the transhuman nodded his acknowledgment of her apology. "Just jot down the details and I will get right on it."

*****

Alec groggily tried to pull himself up. His vision was a little hazy but his nose was telling him he was in the medical centre. His hands wouldn't budge. Lifting his head from the pillow, his vision cleared enough for him to see the shackles binding him to the bed. The bruised contusions he could see on his wrists were testament to the type of struggle he must have put up against his restraints. The dryness of his throat was what had awoken him. He attempted to call for some assistance but the lack of saliva was making it hard for him to articulate any sound. He tried again. 

"Water, please. Someone?" It was little more than a croaky whisper but with so many transgenics within the building it was still sure to be heard. Confirming this, he heard footsteps approaching the room.

Angel strode in with a cautious smile on her face. Hopefully the cocktail of drugs had reduced the hallucinatory effect his hyperactive brain had been producing. In her hand she carried a glass filled with ice chips which would quench the immediate thirst. His stomach would probably appreciate a slower reintroduction to liquid. 

"Well if it isn't my most patient, back in the land of the living. How are you feeling Alec?" Her voice was light and conversational but the edge was unmistakable. She was still assessing his condition and he knew it.

"Angel," he knew her well from his many visits for injury repairs, "not that I don't appreciate your hospitality, but what am I doing here?" He looked down meaningfully at his wrists. Looking at his bound hands she smiled apologetically at him. She wasn't ready to release him just yet.

"Last thing I can remember was some pretty nasty dreams, I felt like I was losing control." His distaste with that idea was made plain by the curl of his lip. " The next thing, I wake up and I am bound up in sick bay with a head full of fog." He grimaced a bit as she placed a bit of ice in his mouth. The soothing liquid that formed slowly trickled down into his parched throat.

"We have managed to suppress the overstimulated part of your brain for the moment. You are going to have to help us to understand what is going on ..what brought this on and that."

Angel looked at his face to gauge his reaction, to see whether he was ready to delve into this. He was looking straight passed her to the door. A range of emotions flickered across his face. His eyes swirled from hazel to stormy green. She sensed the presence behind her then, and knew who it would be. The fact that Max had been back in the med centre looking in on Alec nearly every hour on the hour was surprising. It was common knowledge that their fearless leader didn't make life easy for the man lying on the bed. Something had changed though, looking at Alec's reaction it was obvious that there was some sort of connection between them. Whether it was a healthy one was another question. However, for the moment he seemed to be welcoming Max's presence.

Angel caught Alec's eyes and an unspoken question passed between them. Turning to the door she ushered Max forward. In her peripheral vision she saw the tenseness creeping into Alec's body but she knew that really he wanted her there. 

"Slowly feed him these. Not too many at a time." She cautioned Max. "Keep him quiet. I will be nearby if you need me." She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder to let him know she was there for him. Holding out the glass to the dark-eyed woman that had moved to Alec's side, she excused herself and left the room.

Tentatively Max moved closer to the bed. She smiled hesitantly, conscious of how things had been the last time she had seen him awake.

"Howdy Stranger" She attempted a light banter to ease the tension between them. At his smile of welcome she continued on. "Been a bit quiet with you not round bugging me." She shut up quickly when she saw the look of hurt he attempted to quickly mask. 

"Alec, I was so scared when I found you." Words failed her so she moved closer t express herself in other ways.

She cupped his face with her palm. He closed his eyes and let the comforting sensation of her touch wash over him. A tear escaped from beneath his long lashes and swept down over his cheek. 

"I am sorry for scaring you, Max." He swallowed hard and opened his eyes to look straight into her chocolate brown ones. "I even scared myself"

At his open vulnerability she felt her heart ache. Placing the glass of ice down on the drawers next to the bed, she traced the path of the tears with her finger.

"I didn't know what to do, how to help." She fought passed the lump in her throat to convey her feelings of helplessness in words. "You were just so not you…." She let her fear trail off as she saw the pain illuminating his gaze.

"I guess I am so used to having you there strong beside me that it made me feel a little lost without you there " It came out as a whispered confession. Alec continued to look into the frightened and confused chocolate eyes that were quickly turning into liquid pools as the tears formed.

"Max…." his voice was still struggling. The word came out huskier than he had intended. He looked down at his bound hands in frustration. His instincts told him to take her in his arms and comfort her but he was trapped.

"Alec, I am just so sorry that I I have never realised before now how important you are to T.C., how important you are to me." She was still pleading with her voice for forgiveness.

"I've got to go away for a little while. Got a few leads on the killer…" she paused as she saw a shadow pass across Alec's face and a mask of seemed to shutter down. She pushed on, needing him to know what was happening, why she wouldn't be there to see him. He needed to hear from her what was going on rather than being left isolated the goings on. 

"Sam was one of the victims." At his sharp intake of breath she stopped "It is okay, I am okay with it but…I am going to go see her family. Maybe they will be able to give me some answers." She moved one of her hands down to grasp his.

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I'll miss you." She whispered as she bent to kiss him gently on the forehead. Alec's eye flutter shut as her warm lips stayed resting for a long moment on his skin. She turned and strode away, not looking back, holding back the sobs so he couldn't tell how much she hated to go when he was like this.

Alec let his eyes open again as she reached the doorway.

"I'll miss you too, " he whispered after her retreating back.

*****

Angel watched a very distressed Max hurry out of the medical centre. Spurred by concern for her patient she moved swiftly to the door of Alec's room. Reaching there she halted, surprised by the scene in front of her. 

Mole, the usually taciturn soldier that he was, was sat by Alec bedside. His hand lying on the shoulder of the bed bound man in an act of solace. The two of them were silent. Rather than disturb them she backed away unnoticed. Backing further until she stood against the opposite wall, Angel contempleter what she had learned. At least Alec has friends there for him she thought grimly he was going to need them.

The results of the tests suggested that the drugs they were using would quickly become ineffective due to his increased metabolism and adaptive physiology. When they did, she feared that she would have to go back to sedating for his own good. With Alec out of action for an indeterminate amount of time the morale in Terminal City would be sure to plummet. With Max gone as well, things were going be very bleak.


	6. Chapter 5:A sense of losing ground

Timebomb Central

A/N Thankyou for the great editing job by my beta team at the Editing Room:

Dreamer, Kiwi and Roon.

Chapter 5: A sense of losing ground......

_____________________________________________________________________

Max felt her baby throb between her thighs. Normally, this gave to her an intense feeling of exhilaration but today it left her with nothing but a queasy sense of trepidation. The partially concealed gates of TC lay waiting before her but she felt an unsettling sense of fear at the thought of passing through them. She knew she was expected in Canada, that Dix had made all the arrangements for her. Yet, she hated the idea of having to leave her home, which TC had very quickly become, with so much anguish abounding. Her eyes shifted to focus on the infirmary. Inside its walls lay the main reason for her hesitation. She knew that he was in good hands, but the thought of leaving here while he was like this seemed to be ripping her apart inside. Funny, many times in the past she had wanted him gone, out of her life. Now that there seemed to be actually a chance for that to happen, she couldn't imagine a life without him, didn't ever want to have to live one. Her bottom lip trembled again at the thought, but she pulled herself together, nearly in time to stop the tears, which welled in her eyes before beading on her lashes. Twin tracks slid down her cheeks and plummeted to the ground. 

Straightening her shoulders, mentally shaking herself, she revved the throttle a little. The sound of the full gritty growl soothed her soul slightly. Nodding to the nearly hidden sentries they opened the makeshift gate to let her pass through...out into the real world. One where she was nothing more than a normal girl, more beautiful than most, just out for a ride. She rode away quickly and hopefully unseen. Swiftly she moved through the seedier parts of Seattle that surrounded TC in a concentric circle. It was like a buffer zone, the radiation from TC had created a zone of lower life around it...people didn't want to become mutants it seemed. These people had better things to do than watch her ride away, they had enough trouble just living their own lives. It meant that there was at least some anonymity for those trying to enter and exit Terminal City unseen.

As she cleared the city limits and the last checkpoint, she opened the bike up. Feeling the air as it rushed past whipping her hair out like a flag behind her she wished it could also whip her troubles away with it. Images invaded her mind, vivid scenes of Alec, losing his mind in his apartment, strapped to the bed in the infirmary, so vulnerable and honest. It haunted her that he was still trapped there, tied to a damn bed, and they couldn't do any more than hope it went away. Angel wasn't too sure how much longer the drugs could keep him lucid before he slipped back into whatever hell his mind had been creating. She felt like she was losing him and was completely helpless to stop it. Going on this trip now made her feel that she was running away, deserting him, when she needed to be at his side like he had always been at hers. 

This fact-finding mission was something for the good of them all, she kept telling herself unconvincingly, but it felt so wrong. She had been on a knife's edge since the strange deaths had started, the ongoing tension was really taking its toll. Along with that came the guilt she felt for not protecting those that had died, guilt that she didn't know how to prevent the deaths of any others. Max knew she that she shouldn't beat herself up over it, but that didn't stop her feeling responsible. Now something had claimed Alec as well, it was becoming too much to for her to bear alone. She wished someone else could share her burden, her feeling of duty. Logan had offered, well more truthfully demanded, that she leave him in charge of the Freak Nation. Somehow she had unwittingly founded a community that night after the Jam Pony siege. Strangely, she could only think of one person who would have been capable of holding down the fort with her gone, and funnily enough it hadn't even occurred to think of Logan. But it was TC business, and as much as they had fooled themselves into thinking he was a part of it at one stage, in reality, he never would be. Problem was, he didn't seem ready to acknowledge it. Nor was he ready to accept that the virus had achieved an unpredicted goal, it had cured her of her love for him. She had been forced to decline in a blunt manner, which he had obviously not appreciated. Actually it was becoming increasingly apparent that he wasn't enjoying being pushed to the periphery of her life, but he didn't fit into her priorities, he didn't belong to her kind. He wasn't important in her life anymore.

She had always felt ashamed of what she was, but something during that fateful siege had jolted to life inside of her. Being in Terminal City had initially rekindled the sense of belonging that had been present for her as a child. To truly be amongst those that shared her fate, to be a freak in a human world. The hostage situation had taught her more, they were special, not just different. They had fought side by side, back to back...and she was truly what she was meant to be, not a wannabe human but a unique creature. It was like her soul had been released from a self made prison of revulsion. She had felt stronger, more alive, and exactly what Alec had described them to Normal as...genetically enhanced. Logan may insist that he had accepted her, but he had made it clear that he never really accepted the others. In the long run she doubted he wanted to know what she really was, he preferred to think of her as human, like the facade Manticore had made to present to the world. 

Tears formed in her eyes as she contemplated how long she had been trying to fight what she was inside, how long she had wasted pretending. Finding herself, finding her family and a sense of belonging...it all meant so much to her. Clenching her jaw, she urged the bike to go faster. The quicker this was done the quicker she could be back at TC. Hopefully she could bring them good news.

********

Alec felt his eyes drift to closed again, he knew he was losing track of the days. The windowless room he was in meant that he saw no change of light, and the drugs they were pumping into his system seeming to making any logical thoughts a bit fuzzy. As best as he could tell, Max had been gone 3 days, his only way of judging was the changing of the guard. He opened his eyes and shifted them to check which one was sitting watch over him now. Sometimes he was sure he lost segments of time, whether through sleep or just the sedation he wasn't sure, he hated this surreal feeling it brought with it. He knew he had never been a good patient. Sure he had been injured, bullet wounds seemed to be his speciality, but he just didn't like being confined to bed. Especially when he was strapped to it for his, and others, protection.

Joshua's worn face showed the strain everybody seemed to be experiencing. Looking at him Alec felt guilty for being the cause of more anguish for his friends. Mole, the gruff , had shown a side of loyalty and companionship that Alec felt proud to be the recipient of. In fact, if he survived this whole damn thing, he would feel that it was because he owed his life to his friends being there for him. Even **she** had been there. His eyes closed on a groan as he replayed their history, sometimes violent, often bloody, but now just plain confusing. When his mind settled on their last encounter he felt his chest tighten, something serious had been shared between them. He couldn't begin to analyse what it meant, only that she had really opened up to him for only the second time that he could remember. This time she had given him a grain of hope, that she thought he was important to her. 

Flickering images started to invade his mind as he felt conscious slipping. "No" he mumbled shaking his head in an attempt to erase the savagery he was getting glimpses of. "No, no , I can't, Noooooooo" his anguished scream brought Joshua to his friend's side in an instant. His body was convulsing against the straps that held him down. 

With a howl of need, Joshua's bellow echoed through the wards of the infirmary to reach Angel's ears.Within seconds Angel came running with a hypodermic full of clear liquid. 

"Back," she placed one arm across the concerned transhumans chest, pushing him away to allow her access. At his resistance she turned to reason with him, to make him let her do her job.

"Joshua I need to give him this. The other drugs are becoming less effective, but this is an experimental cocktail, hopefully it will buy us a bit more time."

The canine man moved back and allowed her into Alec side. She primed the needle. Pushing back the cover she took a firm grip of the struggling arm tied to the bed and took aim. She jabbed the needle and plunged the liquid into his raised vein. Stepping back, she watched as the convulsions gradually eased till only the occasional quiver passed through his body. Placing the needle down in the kidney dish she had carried it in, she once again moved to Alec's side. Taking hold of his wrist she checked his pulse, it was still a little rapid but she could actually feel it slowing in her grasp. She moved her hand to his face and lifted an eyelid to check his pupil, dilated but the eye was still no longer rapidly moving to alert her to dream state. Hopefully her little booster had pushed him beyond that for now. He couldn't stay sedated too long. Her thumb pads ran over the broken skin on his wrists where he had been pulling at the restraints, lifting the covers she checked the damage to his ankles also. The flesh was raw and would need tending. She would have to send someone in to treat them while he was so heavily under, there was little chance of him being violent at the moment.

Satisfied that he was at peace for now, she pulled Joshua out into the corridor. She had other patients that needed her care, but these faithful friends could act as her eyes and ears to alert her when Alec needed her. Terminal City needed to look after this man, he was valuable. The frightened look on the transhuman's face made her feel a sense of compassion, he was coping well with the hard facts being thrust upon him.

"Ï need you to help me monitor him." She shook him gently to break his focus away from the still figure in the room. "He needs to be watched so that he doesn't get into such a agitated state. When he begins to stir, observe him. " She knew that she might miss the new shift of bedside vigilance. Firmly she made him focus on her instructions. "watch him carefully. Please tell whomever comes in after you to let me know the instant he shows signs or distress. 

*******

The trail seemed to be stone cold. She hadn't managed to unearth any clues that could give them something to work with. Sam's husband had been a little freaked when she had gotten there. Max guessed that he wasn't as ready as he thought he was to come face to face with the image of his dead wife. He had done his best to tell her everything he knew. His leads though plentiful, had all amounted to nothing. Same pattern, but one that left confusion in its wake. Though something did worry Max a little. Sam had been having nightmares prior to her death, ones that had left her detached and a little bit disoriented. Her mind had immediately flashed to Alec, that first night when she had found him a wreck in his room. Whatever had gotten Sam, it seemed Alec was another victim. 

Knowing this had made her search more urgent. She needed to find out the truth before whatever or whoever claimed him as well. When Angel had told Max he was slowly losing his mind she had been terrified that she was losing him, but now, knowing he could be gone in an instant, had spurred a fear she had never experienced, one where she felt she would lose a part of herself if he died. She hadn't slept since she had gotten here but tiredness was starting envelop her. The couch she was sitting on was not particularly comfortable but her weary body didn't seem to mind. Telling herself she would have just a short nap to refresh her, Max swung her legs up and lay down. The moment her head lay on the cushion, consciousness ebbed away.

*******

Something was following her. She could feel it, sense its creepy presence, but not see it. Something dark, sinister and terrifying. The more she ran the faster it seemed to be gaining. Pausing to catch her breath, she listened but could hear nothing. Darkness crept in and was almost upon her. In the last moments as she felt like prey just about to be pounced upon, she turned to see piercing eyes hurtling towards her. She screamed, in terror.

Max jerked awake. Her mind stretched tentacles back trying to grab a hold of her dream. Dream, nightmare more like it. Shaking her head she couldn't dislodge the sense of foreboding. She felt haunted by some intangible terror. It was woven through the fragmented images she could piece together. Something was seriously not right. 

A frightening thought struck Max. This could be more serious than her being plagued by simple nightterrors. Alec. His dreams. Were they the thing that was slowly driving him out of his mind? He had seemed to fear sleep, only succumbing when exhaustion had taken over. She felt an urgent need to hurry home. This was all giving her a bad feeling. Inside she harboured a niggling fear. She was going to need Angel's help too.


	7. Chapter 6: It all catches up with you

**Timebomb Central**

_Thanks must go out to the wonderful support of Roon, Kiwi, Helgz, Spike and Zac._

_Roon is to be credited with me getting this bugger started again. _

**Chapter Six: It all catches up with you **

The faster she let the bike run, the slower the miles felt like they were passing. The trip back to Terminal City seemed endless, the growing fear that gnawed away inside Max was starting to overwhelm her. She carefully pushed the panic back, focusing on those back home, waiting for her. When she finally saw the sign marking the city limits of Seattle, she slowed her bike to a less insane speed. Slightly less.

Navigating the streets, she knew what her first priority would be. The hospital was to be her first destination. She needed to see that Alec was alright. Leaving him in such a state had been against her gut instincts, but someone had needed to seek out the answers. The fences that surrounded TC were a welcome sight. Their normally restricting presence was more a reassuring relief to Max. Nearly there, nearly home. 

Pulling up outside the hospital, she shut off the engine. The thud of her heart in her chest was almost painful. Now she was finally here, she was scared to go in. Steeling herself, she swung off the bike and approached the entrance. A quick glance around the compound showed no signs of life, but that wasn't unusual with people often keeping low to avoid the stray idiot bullets from the red-neck ordinaries. Pushing through the doors, she fully expected to walk into a lobby full of people. 

The place was deserted. 

Max entered the deathly quiet halls with trepidation. The hairs on the back of her neck were beginning to stand on end. She moved from room to room, becoming increasingly more terrified as each room proved to be as desolate as the previous one. The silence around her felt like it would smother her. Everywhere appeared empty, every bed made and starkly vacant.

She broke into a frantic run. She needed to know what had happened.

_How could she have let anything happen?_

Her heart in her mouth, she tried to yell out. Somehow she needed to make some one hear her, she needed to know if anyone was still around. 

Her voice came out as a near soundless croak. 

Since the moment she had left TC this had been what she had feared most. That she would be back too late. 

The place was deserted. 

_ She was truly alone.  
  
_Reaching the final room- she came to a dead stop. 

Her onward flight halted by a vision that made her blood run cold. 

Joshua...lashed to a hospital bed. 

Heavy chains were crossed over his bare chest, cutting through the skin and causing trickles of blood to fall in tiny rivulets to the sweat soaked sheet below him. His mouth was gagged preventing him from voicing his pain. His eyes wretched and totally wild. He looked feral. 

As his body twisted in agony she moved instinctively forward to try to calm him but a step away from the bed something held her back. Her hands couldn't reach for him. She couldn't make herself take that final step. 

Shaking herself mentally, she pushed through the invisible barrier in her mind and made it to his side. Firmly she placed her hands on his chest trying to hold him still, to let him see that she was here for him. Her hands made no impact. Her feeble actions couldn't still the writhing transhuman. She felt helpless. 

_She couldn't save them._

Then she heard it...a sound of life. 

The rhythmic sound of footsteps coming down the empty hall towards her.  


The doorway framed a sight she so desperately had hoped to see- Alec walking toward her. 

Running forward, Max felt her heart leap in her chest- he was alive- he was still here waiting for her. As she neared him something, some instinct, made her look him in the eyes. The words that made her want to die came tumbling from his lips- 

"You're too late, Maxie." 

The insanity that rang out from the hazel orbs had her skidding to halt at his feet as she tried to back peddle away from the unpredictable soldier with the face of a friend. 

As Alec reached his hand out and grabbed for her, she screamed. His claw-like grip cut into her as he caught her shoulder and started to shake. 

"You left us here to rot".

The accusation broke through his crazy facade, the truth she saw in the words struck home. Max in her anguish cried out. Her mouth moved in a silent apology as the hot tears of guilt streamed down her face. 

_She'd abandoned her friends._

A tiny sound broke into her thoughts, out of place in the hospital hall. Alec's face began to fade as consciousness regained its grasp on her mind.  


Max lifted her head from her arms, as the hand shaking her loosened its grip. The sudden deathly silence around her broke her from her reverie. A room full of strangers watched curiously as the dark haired girl who had been screaming only moments before let a mask of hooded cautiousness drop. 

Reorientating herself, Max realized that the claw like grip on her shoulder was not Alec's hand but that of the diner waitress trying to wake her. She remembered now. She'd stopped for gas and for a coffee to try and stave off the increasing need to sleep- but the avoidance of any slumber had obviously overwhelmed her shark DNA. Normally she hardly slept but something dark was drawing her into slumber no matter how hard she fought.

"Are you okay, Miss?" The concerned eyes of the elderly waitress bore into her. Hastily swiping away the tears that were on her cheeks, she began to back out of the place. The eyes of all the patrons glued to the strange girl as she turned and ran. The concerned look on the waitress's face followed as she turned and ran to her bike. Getting back was urgent even her subconscious was telling her that now. 

****

The hospital was blanketed in a hushed silence. The silent corridors gave the impression of serenity- this was truly deceptive. 

The anxiety level throughout the transgenic community had continued to rise. T.C. lacked a true leader at the moment. The place felt empty and aimless with both Max and Alec absent. It wasn't their leadership that was missing, the transhumans knew they could cope adequately without their X5 friends. Yet the hope and the drive that the two lent to the transgenic's future was sorely missing without them there to guide it. 

In headquarters, Mole and Joshua looked across at the tired faces that were dotted around the different workstations. They needed to find some sort of solution fast. The waiting game was just upping the level of insanity. Angel had sent Mole and Joshua away from Alec's bedside. After days of absolutely no change in his condition- whilst things had been becoming increasingly more desperate within the community- she believed they could do more good keeping things together so there could be something for Max and Alec to return to. It was a task that gave them a purpose, something to distract them from the situation, a way of coping with the fact Alec's chances of survival were becoming slim. Something no one wanted to acknowledge but was in the back of all their minds.

Many of the wounded that were occupying the beds in the hospital had been caught up in fights brought about by over hyped adrenalin behaviour. Mole had hit upon a plan. A way to take the edge off the constant adrenalin everyone was pumping in fear. The training grounds were crowded around the clock. Physical exhaustion was the personal target of everyone who attended. The chance to collapse mindlessly into slumber without fear of being haunted by horror proved a worthy enticement. They had all seen a lot, been to hell and back, but Manticore had never made them this scared. Occasionally the scuffles still broke out, but the number of incidents seem to have peaked and was now starting to fall. The hospital was grateful not to be dealing with more incoming casualties when the numbers of individuals reporting with sleep disturbances was taking up most of their resources. 

****

Things were starting to fall into place. Dix could see a pattern beginning to form. From all the seemingly unrelated information he had fed into the database about the victims, two single hits of information seemed to be shared in common by all those so far killed. They were only small clues and he didn't yet know what the hell they meant but it gave them some sort of starting point to work from. The idea of a murderer had been dispensed with. These were self-inflicted deaths but driven by some sort of sinister means that they had yet to grasp.

The clues weren't much but starting from the most obvious point, Dix had found that all the victims were born in Manticore.

This seemed to be a only a small clue, but it also suggested that the humans seemed to be untargeted by what ever this was and unlikely to be harmed. Unfortunately, it also tended to point the finger at some sort of assassination plot specifically designed to harm the transgenics. Someone trying to kill them wasn't unusual, it happened every day. The added mental break downs were the side that was perplexing to even Dix. That was more the work of a terrorist, someone who would torture their victims before killing.

The more sketchy details that seemed to correlate across the victim database were that it appeared that all those effected were away on missions from the Manticore base when Renfro had ordered the lock down and incineration. This seemed illogical. It would have been more understandable if it had been those who had been inside at the time. Some sort of poison that had leaked, some sort chemical that had exploded in the labs and contaminated them all. That would have made more sense. Instead it was those who were on the outside. Except for Max. She was the one that didn't seem to fit the profile.

He turned back to his fact and figures. Surely there must be more in the data. Something that would give them a definite clue.

****

The moment Max reached sight of T.C.'s perimeter fences panic had begun to overwhelm her. Her nightmarish vision was only that, she kept trying to tell herself that calmly but the hysteria was growing. It had worked for most of the trip but now that she was in the home stretch, the fear of what she was about to find set her mind into a spin again. Her trip back had seemed the longest hours in her life. The bike had been cursed for not being fast enough, for not getting her back to safety quickly enough, to where she needed to be. Emotions of fear and confusion raged beneath the surface of her mind. The turmoil taking charge of her concentration nearly caused her to unseat herself on more than one occasion

She slipped unseen in through the back door. She needed to see him, to know he was still waiting for her, to let him know she was back. When she reached his doorway, she hesitated, frightened to look and see the room empty. The sight of him brought such overwhelming relief. With a repressed sob, Max stumbled across the room to Alec's side. His pale face ashen against the white sheets. She lay her forehead against his and whispered to the unconscious man.

"Alec I am so scared."

Her only answer was the constant beep of the machine beside his bed.

"I have no idea what is happening to me but I don't want it to overtake either of us." Shiny tears on her cold cheeks dripped onto Alec's face. 

"You've got to help me. Please fight it ...give me some hope." Her windblown lips pressed gently onto the hot sweaty skin she'd been resting on. Taking a measure of comfort in touching him and knowing he was still alive when she was back.

_She needed answers. She needed to see Angel ...NOW. _

Rational was definitely not the state her mind was in as she pushed open the double doors of the hospital lobby. Startled faces surrounded her but they moved back as she purposefully strode down the corridor. At least it was lined with people and not empty as her dreams had haunted her with. Breaking into a run she hit the first interference in her plan as she came near the closed door of the doctor. 

Angel lifted her head from her arms. They'd been acting as a pillow while she tried to catch a few minutes nap at her desk. She was mildly disorientated for a few seconds before she realised what had woken her. A commotion could be heard beyond her door in the corridor. She was on her feet and halfway across the room when the doors burst open and framed in their place was Max. The X5 looked haggard and dirty- but more startling than that was the look of insane desperation in her eyes.

Angel had no time to react before the dark haired girl held her firmly grasped by each upper arms and was shaking her painfully.

"Tell me you've worked it out- tell me we're not gonna all die!!"

"Calm down, Max." Angel tried to soothe the frantic woman but her words seemed unable to penetrate the panic that gripped their returned leader. She sighed with relief as security, a constant necessity at the minute in the hospital, reached the open doors and began to move forward.

Breaking Max's grasp, the two burly X5s held the struggling woman as Angel swiftly moved to her desk. She picked up a hypersyringe. Palming it she moved back to where Max was being held and lifting her empty hand she placed it on Max's arm- soothing and distracting the girl. Then slowly she lifted her other hand, the one that held the syringe, to Max's neck. The near instantaneous effect of the sedative was the reason Angel kept it with her. It was more effective than a bullet for bringing down an adrenalin high transgenic. She had never ever thought that she'd need it on Max. 

The leader of T.C was carried into the infirmary, her limp body placed on one of the few vacant beds. Firmly she was strapped down for now till the effects of the sedative wore off and Angel could get a chance to find out what had happened. Given the behaviour the normally controlled Max had displayed, it would seem apparent that she too had become a victim of the madness that gripped Alec.

****

The week-old paper didn't seem to hold anything of vital importance, but the dark haired woman seemed totally engaged in it. One small article, a passage about the death of a pretty girl in Canada, seemed to have really captured her attention. She lightly brushed her fingers through her curls and nervously fiddled with the scarf on her neck. Pulling it a little lower at the back, she made sure it met the collar of her dress. They slid down and to cover the telltale lines. 

As she read on she sensed a presence behind her. A deep and threatening voice whispered close to her ear. "I know what you are."

Stiffening slightly, she turned with a smile plastered on. She slid her glasses off and focused on the man standing mere inches from the back of her chair. Something in the way she looked at him dazed him, it shook his focus from the barely hidden tattoo on her neck to her welcoming eyes. 

"Don't you need to get home now?" Shaking his head, he then nodded to her. "Forget what you've seen, and have a nice day". She sent him on his way with a smile. The look of disorientated bewilderment clear on his face as he moved off along the aisle and out into the street.

She sipped the last of her coffee and collected her bag. She had somewhere she needed to be.


	8. Chapter 7: Hope

**Timebomb Central**

**Chapter 7: Hope **

_Thank you to Roon and the others at TER for the support_.

The cab pulled up a few blocks from the wire mesh fence. She wasn't stupid. No need to put unnecessary suspicion in the mind of the driver...or any of the naive people that still haunted the perimeter yelling hateful words. It was time to return, to go to back to those like her. She'd turned her back on them before. Set out for a new life, an ordinary life. That hadn't worked out. Instead she had been staying mobile, keeping her head low and not attracting attention. Manticore hadn't made it easy with their brand mark in such an obvious place. Yet, she had kept off the radar, apart from a few small incidence that she had been able to neutralize. Now she was back to try and set right some of the wrongs she had been a part of. This was what she had been created to do. It gave her a sense of purpose, something she had been sorely missing since the incineration of her home.

As she approached an area that seemed deserted, she made one last furtive look around. Slipping through a carefully concealed joint in the fence, she moved through the darkness effortlessly. She sensed she had company well before they chose to make their presence known. Not knowing what the response would be to her presence, she let them initiate contact. 

Hope. That was her bargaining chip with these people. For once in her life, she feared what they were. She knew what they were capable of, and in desperate times a caged animal could be unpredictable. The pain and confusion that consumed the Terminal City inhabitants was like a tangible thing. It created a cloud of darkness in her mind that she had to forcibly push back. Desperate was what these people certainly were. Squaring her shoulders, she followed the two large X5s that had intercepted her. Her barcode had given her entry, now she needed to have her logical reasoning to get them to let her help. 

Angel looked down at the heavily sedated woman and felt her last shreds of hope vanishing. Even with the patterns Dix had identified, she couldn't see what was the cause. The overcrowded wards were filled with others, like Max. They too were sedated and confined. Those unaffected had a haunted look, not sure whether they too would become inflicted. Manticore had made them feel immortal, this was just bringing home their vulnerability.

In some ways it had been better when Max was away on the trail of information. At least then there had been flickering hope that she might unearth the answers they needed. They had gone through Max's things and come up with little to indicate she had been successful. There seemed to be no further clues from the death of Sam than there had been with the ones that had occurred on their own turf. Terminal City had sort of created its own quarantine. Yet, the fact that those outside of its gates had been effected tended to suggest something else entirely.

The feeling of helpless that she tried to restrain on a daily basis was beginning to rise again. Angel looked around the room at the enforced comatose patients she was responsible for. Could she ever find a way to restore their minds to peace? It was the soft knocking at the door that interrupted the doctors train of thought. Turning she noticed a small woman with unusual eyes looking past her to the restrained figure of Max. The look of anguish and guilt on the woman's face made Angel suddenly curious as to who she was. 

"Can I help you?" Her question brought the other woman's focus away from Max.

"I was hoping in fact that I could help you." 

The calm assurance, the slight inflection in her voice, the pacifying tone made Angel step back. She'd heard that before, been subjected to it in Manticore more than once. This woman was a product of psy-ops. Trained to get past the defenses and destroy from within. In TC they were one type of transgen that was absent, not being popular amongst the others was most probably an important reason, given the torture they had dished out. Careful to keep her thoughts shielded she moved towards the door and ushered the woman along the corridor to her office. She needed to know how this thing believed she could help. 

Once seated in the office, Mia began relaying to the doctor what she knew of the situation. She acknowledged the doctor's suspicions, took responsibility for her actions. Her interpretation of the deaths left Angel nodding sagely. It was the sort of cruel thing that she should of expected from her creators. The idea of them being created as a toy that was exclusively for use by its manufacturers wasn't a surprise, really. The fact that they had been booby-trapped was the ingenious sort of thing that left no visible mark and created no obvious pattern. No wonder they hadn't been able to find any evidence. Dix had definitely been on to something but they would never had grasped the true meaning in time.

Mia's eyes showed a level of remorse that startled the doctor. Psy Ops personnel weren't known for their compassion or for their guilt. What she proposed seem risky but given the alternatives seemed worth taking a chance. Even if they could get one success it would provide hope for all those not affected...and prove that it wasn't something more sinister. Manticore, even after it had been brought to its knees appeared to be having the last laugh on them all.

The fact that it would only be confined to a select group was somewhat of a relief. Not much, given that it still meant a large portion of their population was at risk, but at least they knew ahead of time who was likely to be effected. Mia believed the final trigger that had sped up the progress was probably the mutagens in T.C. effecting their brain chemicals. Even Sam had been exposed to them as well. Time would have lead to the same conclusion but the toxic waste had just hastened its onslaught. It was all falling into place, a not very nice place, but it was making a sort of sinister sense. 

A meeting between those still left in charge was adjourned. They crowded around the table and stared at the small woman who was largely a stranger among them. Mia could feel the hostility mingled with hope. She had carefully avoided using her telecoercion since she had been in T.C. out of respect for their trust. Once again she told them what she knew and how she hoped to attempt to put right some the wrongs she had been a part of. They were willing to let her try and access the passwords, to see if she could reverse the effects. In the end they chose Alec as her first. Mainly cause Mia knew the mind of her subject more than others. He also was the longest suffering of those in the infirmary, longest surviving effected member of the community. He was also Alec.

Mole, Joshua and half of T.C. wanted to be there to see her work. She restricted the number of people present because she didn't want to be distracted by their thoughts. Only the two transhumans and Angel were allowed to stand vigil while she probed the mind of the man strapped to the bed. His medication had been gradually reduced until now he lay thrashing in obvious agony, before them. Mia worked fast. She could see the blood starting to ooze from where his constraints were cutting into his sweaty bare skin. Blocking out the image, she focused on entering his mind. 

The darkness startled her. As did the horror filled images that confronted her. 

She moved cautiously from passage to passage. Her destination was clear in her thoughts but she knew that a rogue mind, riddled with traps could draw her down if she wasn't careful. 

It was dangerous work, but she was willing to risk it. 

The knife that sliced through the darkness, barely scraped her as her mental agility let her move out of its path at the last minute. She had felt a slight tingling as it drew blood. Fear was in her mind, but she pushed it back and concentrated on Alec's internal confusion. 

The corridors were getting tighter, the walls and floors converging until she was forced to crawl forward. 

The sounds of wailing filled her ears but she ignored them. They were there to distract her, to make her focus on other than her goal, they were figments implanted in Alec's imagination to scare away intruders such as herself. To anyone trained by Psy-Ops, this was a normal day at the office. However, it had been a while since this part of her talents had been put to use and she was feeling the strain. 

Manticore had been thorough with Alec. Obviously they had seen him as more valuable than most. She pushed past the barriers, clicking it into place like a puzzle, she knew what she was doing. The idea of implanting active operatives with a self-destruction code has been long carried out but seldom had it ever come to a situation where they would be activated. The fact that the destruction of Manticore had been unplanned was the only reason it was occurring now. 

The little door was barely large enough for her to squeeze through. 

She couldn't see in here. The darkness was heavy and foreboding but she knew she was in the right place. Placing her hands on the ground she felt around. The sensation of crawling didn't put her off, she knew it was only an illusion. So was the crackle of insect bodies under her knees and she shifted forward to explore more of the space. The solid box her hands encountered was what she had been looking for. The heavy lock that held it tight required extreme concentration. On the edges of her conscious she could feel hands propping up her physical body which was collapsing under the strain. As the lock fell away she lifted the lid.

As the box lid opened a whispered word released itself and echoed faintly through the walls. 

The rippling effect was like a sonic boom. The tiny room began to expand into a great light filled hall. Mia nodded her head in satisfaction and began to extract herself from Alec's head as gently as she could. She found herself in a chair beside the bed. The hand of the doctor held her upright. She smiled wanly at Angel, and nodded her success. 

Alec felt the room swim into focus. It wasn't the room he remembered. The faces that surrounded him were friends...but the gaunt tense looks on their faces showed time and a hell of a lot of pain had passed since he had last set sane eyes on them.

Joshua enveloped the thin man in his big arms and hugged tightly. It wasn't till Alec started gasping for air that he released his tight grip, a little. Mole moved over and clapped a hand warmly on the shoulder of his leader. Not a demonstrative lizard he was visibly overwhelmed by the sight of Alec, back from the edge of insanity. The warmth of the reunion was shattered when Alec realised that someone was absent. He looked around the room hoping to see her but...

"Where's Max?" His question was met with closed looks on the faces of his friends. He looked to Angel who had a look on her face that told him where his partner was. 

"I need to see her." As he attempted to move from the bed his restraints stilled his movements. He looked down at them in confusion until he saw the torn skin and bloody sheets. A dawning look of horror replaced the confusion as the others moved to unbind him. His body was too weak to hold him initially, Joshua held him up as they moved through the hospital corridor to the room Max was in. Even passing so many others obviously in the same mental place he had been, he was unprepared for the sight of her strapped down and doped up.

Attempting to free Max was the first thing Alec insisted on once he had grasp of the situation. In truth, Mia should have a greater grasp on Max's mind than his even. He hated seeing her like this. The sheen of sweat that coated her olive skin was unnerving. 

Mia asked for a little time to prepare herself before she attempted to work on Max. It was a form of mental combat that she needed to be ready to take on. To do it twice in one day under these sorts of circumstances would be tricky enough. The dark circles under her eyes showed how great a strain the task of unlocking Alec's mind had been. His gratitude had been forthcoming, he bore the woman no ill will. They had all had their place in Manticore and not everything they had been expected to do had been pretty. When she indicated that she was ready to try again he was the first to step forward and offer her assistance to rise from her chair. 

Max's meds had been reduced until her semiconscious ranting and constant body thrashing showed the pain she was in. The thin limbs pulled at the leather binding, and he held her down trying to prevent her causing the damage he had to himself. The marks on his torso and limbs would take a while to heal. The pain from the wounds was less than the anguish at the how far this had all progressed since his spiraling descent into craziness. He whispered quiet assurances to her. He was proof that they could beat this thing, Mia had provided them with hope. 

This time sitting on the edge of the bed, Mia took hold of Max's face in both hands. She entered into the girl's mind carefully. She tried to enter a corridor to find a door slammed in her face. She pulled back out and looked at Max in surprise. Still Max lay, her mind a whirling mist of fear and paranoia. Mia tried again. Prodding into sections that were cloaked, peeking into sections that were claustrophobic. This woman was so different to the minds she was used to from Manticore. It contained pain, suffering and so many layers of confusion that it was like a hall of mirrors, each distorting the image till it was hard to make out what was . She reeled back after a while. Pulling her own mind back into order before turning to the hopeful faces that surrounded her. She couldn't quite meet their eyes. Alec moved forward and forced her to focus. 

"Have you released her?"

The shaking of her head caused his shoulders to slump.

"I couldn't get a grasp on her mind. It's like a maze." She tried to clarify what she meant. "Some of it is 'cause of her different upbringing. She isn't ordered in her thoughts like we were all taught to be. Instead she has created safety barriers."

She seemed lost in thought for a moment. "Her mind-lock, I think was the work of someone more powerful. I can ease some of her pain. Create something so you don't need to sedate her so much. But we are going to need to find a true telepath. I'm sorry." Mia was truly crestfallen and Alec let his hands fall from the white knuckled grip he held on her arms. To her credit, she didn't flinch or complain at his rough treatment, even when it was clear he was going to leave bruises marring the skin.

Alec moved forward to the bedside and brushed some loose strands back away from Max's face. She seemed so peaceful. Angel had readministered the sedative and unconsciousness had once again claimed her. There was no sign on her face of the turmoil going on in her mind. 

"Do what you can for her. Then we'll need leads." He turned to Dix who sprung to his feet and was ready for action. "Find out anything that would suggest a telepath from Manticore. Put out feelers...surely someone knows someone who knows the whereabouts of more psyops personnel." Dix nodded and turned to leave. "Do it fast!" 

As his bike moved through the gates and into the world, Alec felt a chill of fear. Mia's arms around his waist gave him some hope. He could feel her in his mind, trying to bolster him. Even though he had been lying asleep for weeks now, he felt exhausted. Dix had some slight leads. Mia had managed to release the rest of those afflicted. She had even managed to spot a few who were just starting to show telltale signs. They needed to get in contact with others who might be walking timebombs, to get them to T.C. before things got out of hand. Angel was to keep them there in mental stasis, like Max, until they got back. Max had been under for about two weeks, nearly as long as Alec had been, but her mind was showing signs of degradation. Mia was being very quiet about it, but the worry she had shown and the whispered conversations she had been having with Angel lead Alec to believe that things were getting progressively worse. 

Everyone was working flat out in HQ to get more information. The level of constant fear had died down but now they had to try and save Max before it was too late. Now it was a race against the clock. The bike moved swiftly out into the night in search of Max's salvation.

Back to the Alec and Max Page


	9. Chapter 8: Tomorrow

**Timebomb Central**

**Chapter 8: Tomorrow**

_Thank you to Roon and the others at TER for the support_.

They had seen more than their fair share of seedy dives. They had encountered more than they had ever wanted to of the even seedier inhabitants, scumbags and low lives. Unfortunately they were yet to find those they were searching for. They had started with Seattle. A few tenuous leads had given them some starting points but all of them appeared to have been useless. These people didn't want to be found.

Alec leaned back against the bar as he looked around the latest sleazy bar they had entered. Mia was causing a stir, but he didn't care. She was well and truly able to take care of her own self and his presence seemed to be deterring any real effort to attract her attention. He ordered himself a drink and turned to his companion for her order. She smiled grimly and declined the offer.

Watching the other occupants of the bar kept him amused for a short while. There was only so much he needed to know about the sick and twisted behaviour of these sparkling examples of humanity. His nose had told him all he needed to know the second they had walked through the door. He was now just trying to ignore it and focus his senses on the drink in front of him. He had never been patient, especially not about something this important. And after all the red herrings and false leads they had followed so far, this could be just another giant waste of their precious time.

The moment she tensed, his eyes were on the door. Her body language was screaming at him that finally they were making some progress. The sight that greeted him seemed totally wrong. A little weedy guy wearing glasses shuffled down the stairs. The slumped shoulders and defensive body language didn't say to Alec" superior genetic specimen"- not by any stretch of the imagination. Yet still Mia elbowed him. It was that action that caused a transformation in the approaching fellow. The man's body stretched up and the droopy shoulders squared up. The eyes that had been carefully studying the floor lifted and focused unerringly on the two at the bar. The penetrating gaze that hit Alec knocked him from his seat. He heard Mia gasp in pain as he pulled himself to his feet. He looked back to where their target had been standing only a second before to see only an empty space. Helping up Mia, who was obviously groggy, he tried to see where the little bastard had gone.

Drip, Drip, Drip....

The cotton wool in her head was all black and was starting to suffocate her. The hands she could feel around her throat were constricting tighter and tighter. And somewhere there was this infernal dripping tap. It was starting to drive her insane. If she could just reach forward and turn it off. She tried to reach out her hands but they wouldn't move...she was too tired.

Sleep. That would be good. The blackness was beginning to swallow her now.

In the distance she could hear frantic shouting and the high pitched bleeping of a machine. All she wanted to do was sleep...couldn't they stop that racket? She just wanted a few moments of peace and quiet.

Then white light. It blinded her, it hurt her. She felt her body rise and fall. Tingles reached to the ends of her limbs. The darkness receded for the moment. Yet it was still there. Coming ever closer....

Angel put the paddles back on the electrocardiogram machine. They had done this several times already. She wasn't sure how much more Max's body would be able to withstand. Each session she seemed to slip further away. Looking at the peaceful serenity on the girl's face, it was hard to believe that death stalked her. It was damn lucky Max was a fighter or they would have lost her long before now. Alec's recovery had bolstered their hopes. Mia had made a miraculous difference. Yet, there were still a lot of the sufferers that Angel feared she wouldn't be able to save if Mia and Alec didn't get back soon. Max, so far, had survived the harsh attempts to keep her alive, others had slipped into oblivion.

Joshua stood at the back of the room, his face looked grey under the stress of watching his 'L'il Fella' slipping away. He was scared and it was written plainly on his face. Mole had been trying to keep him busy, to distract the big canine from his friend's life threatening situation. The fact that Joshua was so totally oblivious to everything around him was not a good sign. He was regressing to an introverted puppy, one so afraid to move in case it would get into trouble or cause something to happen. He wouldn't leave Max's side, no matter what efforts they made. Mole was giving his best but trying to run T.C. and keep Joshua from becoming a basket case, in sympathy with Max, was a big task. The place had slowly returned to something resembling normal. Well as normal as it could be with Max still unconscious and Alec off on a mission. The renewed hope was doing wonders for moral. Alec's return to sanity had made more impact on them than the sight of Mia's arrival. One of their driving forces was back in action and doing something to make things right. Action was something that everyone in T.C. appreciated. It was a welcome change after the sitting around in fear and paranoia that they had all been doing.

Angel crossed across the room and closed the door again. She needed a breather. The stress of trying to keep cheery in the face of these circumstances was beginning to wear on her. Sometimes she just needed to escape outside. To see how the others were living again. The mood was still somber but unlike the infirmary, death was no longer hanging over these transgens. A smile. She swore she saw a smile creep across the face of one of the kids throwing a ball to his mates. It was infectious. Her own face could feel muscles that seem to have become atrophied through long-term underuse. A glimmer of sun hit her on the face as she moved out of the shadow of the building. It was welcomingly warm and comforting. She let the warm rays play over her smiling face and let the worries that confronted her drift for the moment.

The moment wasn't long and was broken by an urgent beeping at her waist. The smile fell away and was once again replaced by a serious expression. Things didn't stand still for anyone. Not even an exhausted transgen doctor who was in desperate need of some help.

Another dead end. Endless chasing down a maze of laneways and derelict housing estates had lead them here. Alec was glad for the stamina his genetics gave him, 'cause otherwise he would have called this a lost cause a while back. If it wasn't so damn important he might still have put this in the too hard basket. Chasing all over Seattle was starting to get wearing.

They had gotten close a couple of times. The problem was they had no defense for the guy's "whammy look" as Alec had called it. Mia was getting hit far worse than he was. Her sensitivity meant that the mental interference sort of short circuited her abilities and senses each time it hit. It had taken her a few minutes to recover the first time but now she seemed to be able to shake it off faster and they were gaining on him. For such a dorky looking guy he was still pretty damn agile, unlike Alec and the X5s, he obviously wasn't made to look pretty but more to camouflage his talents and blend in. His 'talents' were the only reason they were playing cat and mouse in the first place.

The sound of feet traveling up inside the next building sent them running in that direction. Mia was doing well to keep up, she wasn't as used to the physical activity as he was. They reached the doorway and saw their quarry a long way up the stair case and heading out a door onto the roof.

"Man, we just need to talk to you." The look of fear on the telepath was clear. He feared them. There was a moment of indecision and then her turned and ran. It took a second before Alec could see what the guy's target was. The distant building. A distance that Alec would hesitate to attempt to reach even with his greater strength.

The idiot leapt. His heart in his mouth, Alec saw the moment it dawned on the guy that he wasn't going to make it. The flurry of arms and the desperate attempt to gain more distance were to no avail. The plummeting to the ground took mere seconds, but the bone crunching impact made even Alec wince. He'd seen some not so pretty things but seeing someone become a pavement pancake was fairly high up the list. Mia sighed next to him and he turned to see her shrug her shoulders and head back towards the stair case. He followed her down to the street level. They needed to cover their tracks, it was a grim reality.

Alec looked down at the battered body at his feet. A sense of despair fought its way to the surface and he firmly pushed it back down deep. He couldn't let his doubts get the better of him. Not if he was going to have keep going. Mia knelt down and started going through the guys pockets. She looked up at Alec with something resembling a guilty smile and Pulling the list out of his jacket, he moved passed onto the next lead. No point in putting it off. Time wasn't something they had to spare. Even lingering over the lost opportunities such as this one.

Dix transmitted the new information to Alec. The more people they tracked down the better chance they had of getting a successful candidate. They had stretched the net further but the more distance they covered the longer it would take to get back to Max. Alec had told him that it was already starting to take its toll on Mia. The telepathic abilities she had weren't that strong so she had been stretching herself beyond her limits. For a psyops stooge she was being kinda helpful. It wasn't what he had expected. His interactions with psyops had never been pleasant. He knew there were others that it had been worse for though, Alec included. This woman was making him reassess his initial reaction.

The profiles on his screen showed a diverse bunch. The psyops division had been as big a mish mash of talents and types as had all the other transgenics. One of the biggest problems would be locating someone skillful enough to penetrate the block that had been created in Max's mind. Bigger problem was getting past the fear these people had of being found. Alec had relayed to him the result of one of their pursuits. These people were scared, and it was just making Alec and Mia's job all the harder.

A face flipped onto screen as he scrolled through his search results. The startling green eyes that stared back at him from the screen penetrated into his mind. He scrolled down the page to find her last known location. She had been spotted in Seattle not more than a month before. A smile broke across Dix's face. This sounded promising. He looked at the assessment records she had. Powerful, hopefully more than powerful enough to succeed where Mia had failed. He flipped the phone open and transmitted to Alec the coordinates and the picture of the girl.

Hope. Dix labelled the girl in his head, Hope. Funny, he didn't normally get a feeling like this but there was something about this girl. It told him she was the one.

Alec looked at the pics. The last one Dix had sent him was the one closest to their position. She would be their next target. The picture that stared out at him was of a tiny little girl. It reminded him just how dangerously deceptive Manticore could be. This girl was so small and frail to look at but if the information Dix had on her was correct, she could be very, very hard to deal with. He showed Mia the photo and he saw a small look of fear cross her face. She obviously knew this girl, and was scared of her. This wasn't going to be easy.

She could sense them coming. They didn't know she was there. Hiding was the best option. Nothing ever good came out of Manticore. She should know, she came out of there and she was never good. She shifted back in the shadows and slipped back into the doorway before they turned the corner. She was never here. She sent out a mental expulsion to all those who she had encountered. It was the only way. She could feel their desperation. Desperate people were dangerous, desperate transgenics were deadly.

Mia sniffed the air like a nervous deer. Alec gave her a a strange look. He had keener sense of smell than her, yet he couldn't scent anything. She had become agitated again. Some sort of radar that she seemed to have was alerting her on a level he didn't have access to. A small nod let him know they were in the right place. They were going to need to be more careful this time. Transgenics were already a dying breed, he didn't want to accelerate their extinction, he wanted to stop it.


	10. Chapter 9: Faith

**Timebomb Central**

**Chapter 9: Faith**

_Thank you to Roon and the others at TER for the support_.

The night was getting darker and colder. Alec rubbed his hands together to keep the circulation flowing. His breath was making little puffs. Mia had little frown lines on her forehead indicating her concentration. He was having trouble keeping quiet, it was against his natural behavior, but she had already told him off for breaking her concentration more than once already tonight.

Every time they seemed to get some sort of lead the trail had been growing gradually less till it just vanished. They had moved into a junk yard now. Following the latest mental whiff of the girl's presence. The piles of scrap metal providing a huge number of darkened corners for someone to hide in. Plenty of ways to avoid being found. All along he had tried to help but Alec still couldn't get any sort of thing to let him know they were not on a wild goose chase. Instead he had needed to rely on Mia to act as a telepathic sniffer dog. He just hoped what she was picking up was accurate cause he was getting jack of this.

"Ok, I'm getting tired off this wandering around in circles. Can you at least tell me what you know, 'cause I don't want to be blindsided again?"

"She's an experimental." Mia looked around uncertainly.

"What the fuck is that?" He turned to Mia, observing that her nervousness was on the increase.

"Hang on, just how dangerous is this girl?"

"Not too much is known about them...we were never really privy to that sort of classified information. What I do know is that they can do pretty mean things without needing to lift a finger. They were to be like mental soldiers, capable of silent and deadly attacks."

"Like the last guy?"

"No," shaking her head vigorously, she attempted to make it clear to him exactly what they were up against to convince this girl to cooperate. "He was a mental lightweight compared to this. She is a psyop concentrate...everything rolled into one package. Dangerous with a capital D." She looked around again. "And deeply paranoid. There were some problems, I know." The tone of her voice spoke volumes on just how serious those problems had been.

"So why are we here again without backup?" He was looking with greater trepidation at the piles of junk sitting around them. "Shouldn't we be more prepared this time? I don't fancy getting knocked for six again."

Mia shrugged. "I'm not sure what sort of preparation would be needed. Also if we let her get away while we are getting set up then she could just disappear. Alec, this is probably our best shot. It isn't going to be easy but if you want to get Max back...".

Suddenly Mia propped directly in front him, he avoided running into her but only just. One look at his face showed she had stumbled across something new.

"What can you sense?" He whispered to her. It was such an ingrained habit that is still seemed wrong to be talking out loud in the silence while they were trying to be stealthy. If the girl was here she no doubt would hear him anyway. Transgenic hearing and all, let alone the mind reading stuff.

"Nothing!" A look of confusion passed over Mia's face.

"What, don't tell me we're in the wrong place." His exasperated barrage broke off when he saw her quickly shaking her head.

"No, I mean nothing as in someone is blocking me. She's here and she's close." She paused with an intense look of concentration on her face as stretched her mental search to its limits. "And she knows we're here." She added in a whisper.

They knew she was here. She could sense their unease. They had good reason to be worried.

There was no way she would let them take her back. The prodding and probing had be too much. The mental scars were still raw, she had salved them as best she could but she wanted no part of the experiments anymore.

She assessed her enemy. The girl she knew. She'd examined her mind and found it weak and malleable. The guy, he was a little more unpredictable. His mind had a lot of structural damage, it would be harder to work on. Apart from that he appeared to be standard issue X5, just a defective one. She slid further back into her shadowy nook.

Concentrating on a pile of piping on the opposite side of the yard she dislodged them enough to set them tumbling. The male was quick to move to intercept but the other one was smarter than she looked. Her hand reached out to still him. The woman's head turned and her eye's searched in her direction. They passed over her hiding place, before swinging back.

They knew where she was. Her first instinct was to spring to the attack. Her instincts were the only thing that had kept her alive this long so she listened to them. Taking the offensive she launched herself out of her hiding place.

Alec was caught off-guard. His usually keen senses hadn't been telling him diddly-squat. He wasn't expecting the blur that seemed to come from nowhere. Small, smaller than he would have imagined. His mind had barely gotten hold of the image when it was blasted.

_White noise._

It was all his brain could do not to black out as it hit all his senses. He reeled a little his hands pressed against his ears. The blur had begun to form into a tiny person with an angelic face but he had to let go of the image as his eyes were getting cloudy. Once again Mia was on the ground beside him. He could hear footsteps, but the blackness was winning out. Slowly he slumped to the ground, out for the count, again.

They were going back to T.C. empty handed, and he felt hollow. They had been within meters of someone who could have helped and they had lost her. To be fair, he hadn't been really prepared for that sort of multiple assault and they needed to think strategy if they were going to bring the girl in. When they had both regained consciousness and his brain had managed to stop acting like mush, they had decided it was time to regroup. They were going to be smarter next time, but for now, this fish had gotten away.

The wire was welcoming but he read it as a sign of his failure. Max was still trapped. He didn't know how much more she would be able to go through before she gave up. The thought of Max giving up was not something he wanted to entertain. She was a fighter, stubborn as hell. Yet, everyone had their limits.

Looking into the room and seeing Max's still body was a shock. Physically she was deteriorating. It was becoming clear just what sort of toll this was taking on her. He moved over to her bedside quietly, not like she could hear him but the silence apart from the machine was unnerving. Along the edges of her gown he could see the bruising on her chest. Angel had told him how drastic some of the measures she had been taking were. The evidence in front of him was confronting. He brushed her hair back from her forehead. The skin was so pale. He wanted the Smart Arse Max back. Even if she was always on his case, the vitality she exuded was intoxicating. This Max had a death shroud hanging over her and it was creeping him out in a big way.

He was so intent on looking at her that he was startled when a big hand grasped his shoulder. Turning he was confronted by a hollow-faced Joshua. Given that he hadn't been stricken by this mental virus, he looked seriously ill. The sadness in his eyes tore at Alec but he knew he needed to give the big guy some hope.

"Hey there big Guy." he tried to sound cheery but it came out brittle. "How's it going?" As Joshua's eyes swung to Max and his bottom lip began to tremble Alec knew he needed to save this from deteriorating further.

"Got good news." He gave an encouraging smile when Joshua let his attention move back to Alec. "Found someone who can help us."

"Where? Need to fix Max now!" The eagerness in Joshua's voice made Alec cringe a bit internally at his slight deception.

"Well, we need to go pick her up." He thought if he was careful how he worded it he didn't have to let Joshua know how tricky this was going to be. "We met her today and she can definitely help Max."

Next thing Alec knew was that he was being shoved forcefully toward the door. "Alec go, get girl to fix Max." He gave up fighting Joshua's insistent pressure and then kept walking down the corridor under the watchful gaze of the big guy. Alec just wished things were as simple as that, finding her was near impossible, bringing her in was another thing again. He sighed heavily, he couldn't afford to fail.

Dix had dug up anything he could on the psyops experiments with concentrated powers. When he knew what he was looking for it had made his task much easier. Everything had the highest classification but he was able to bypass all the antiquated security and access the files. These kids were not your average, not even for a mutant transgen. The documented problems associated with the experiments read like a cornucopia of mental illnesses. Paranoia was probably one of the least devastating, most of them had been come suicidal and self destructed early in the testing. The fact that this girl, Dix had labeled Hope, was still alive and kicking was a good sign of some mental stability. Now they just had to work out a way to appeal to her rather than set her on the defensive.

Mia sat quietly as Angel administered the drug. She had never been big on any form of medication, usually it effected her mental control. She didn't know why but she trusted this woman. Something she had never felt for the Manticore lab guys was trust, they had always had some agenda, and drugs were used for less important and more sadistic reasons back then. Angel spoke to her soothingly, explaining over and over the plan. Her tone was reassuring, though Mia could pick up the underlying fears that Angel was trying to mask. The plan was dangerous, there were risks involved. It was better to focus on the methods rather than the possible outcomes. No need to think themselves into failure.

When Alec's face appeared in the doorway she had trouble focusing on it. She knew it was time.

Now they just needed luck, and Hope.


	11. Chapter 10: Cloaked

**Timebomb Central**

**Chapter 10: Cloaked**

_Thank you to Roon and the others at TER for the support_.

Something wasn't quite right. Her mind was playing tricks on her again. She shook her head in a bid to try to clear it, to fight off the fog that seemed to be developing. Instead it kept getting thicker till thoughts were becoming difficult to separate. Someone was coming. The frightening part was that she hadn't felt them...her ears had picked up the approaching footsteps first. She tried focusing but that seemed to only bring the darkness on faster. Standing with difficulty she felt her way on wobbly legs towards a refuge. The last time she had felt so helpless had been in the confines of Manticore, the drugs that they had used to keep her in check had clouded her mind in this way. Fear began to rise in her throat. They hadn't found her, they couldn't have. She'd been careful, stayed under the radar. The only contact with transgens she had encountered had been those two weeks ago in that rusted out wasteland. She was miles from there now.

Carrying Mia across town hadn't been fun. She wasn't heavy, not really. Yet the endless tramping had got to be real tiresome awfully quickly. She wasn't completely out, she was enough to let them know whether she could sense the girl. It had taken them the best part of a day to finally track her down. That had required more than just Mia's skills. They'd roped in Joshua too. His nose was keen enough to scent the girl. He was eager to help and Alec thought it was probably a good idea to make him feel useful and get him away from the depressing rut of bedside vigil. He'd been there for a hell of a long time considering he'd done it for Alec himself.

The sound of the body falling gave away her exact position. The fact that this had worked at all was amazing. Alec moved swiftly to her side. His smile wasn't one of victory but more of relief.

Mission Complete.

Alec looked down at the supine figure cautiously prodding her to check she was out cold. "How long do you think this will last?" He didn't want to be caught out with the girl getting wild before they managed to transport her back. Angel shrugged her shoulders in response. The whole plan had been a long shot. She was flying by the seat of her pants with this psychological thing. The girl in her arms, Mia, could probably have told them more but she was needed in her current capacity to keep the other girl sedated and somewhat less dangerous. She was pretty much under herself so having an in-depth conversation wasn't gonna happen. Angel decided a good dose of sedative given directly to the girl would keep her out long enough for them to be safely back and clear of her influence by the time she woke again.

The face that seemed even younger when seen in real life had startled him. Really, Alec wasn't too sure what they'd do with her once they got her back to T.C. How do you convince someone so entrenched in the lies and deceit meted out by Manticore that they were unsure what was the truth anymore? Added to that the mental instability that this girl was already shown to have and it all sounded like a recipe for disaster. Looking down at the tiny bundle now limp in his arms, he found it hard to believe just how far Manticore had gotten in their bid to make the perfect assassin. What he found more than a little disturbing was the power she possessed when she was still this young.

He was relieved when the fences surrounding T.C. came into sight. It meant home, safety and maybe soon, some answers. His pace quickened and his load seemed to lighten at the thought. They weren't ready to free Max just quite yet. He held the solution to her mind lock in his arms. Reasoning with her would come later, first they just needed to make her feel at home.

Mole had been keeping watch. He hadn't been included in the hunting party. Too many people out looking and noone staying home was never a good idea. Stunk too much like desperation, not something that he or any of those in the know, wanted most of the inhabitants of T.C. to cotton on to. He saw them breach the perimeter fence and restrained himself to a purposeful walk as he moved to intercept them.

"See you found your target." He waved his cigar butt at the bundle in Alec's arms. "Got it set up for you. Some where real quiet so the little lady won't cause no havoc."

He let them sweep past him.

The hospital doors swung open as both Alec and Angel carried their unconscious parcels through the halls. The whispered hum coming from the many onlookers showed a level of fear that they hadn't been expecting. Nervous faces peeked out of doorways watching them as they paraded silently through.

Mia was placed in the ward where Max lay. Angel directed Alec to keep on moving to the more isolated section of the hospital. After making sure that Mia was ok, Alec proceeded towards the far end of the corridor and the quarantine area, making a mental note to get Mole to post some sort of security detail creating a buffer zone. Even if it was only an illusion, it would make everyone feel a little safer. Right at the moment, anything that made the T.C. occupants less edgy was a wise move.

As the world became less fuzzy in her mind, she allowed her eyes to open. It took her several goes before she managed to force them into focus. She was alone. This didn't surprise her. She had spent a lot of her life in one form of isolation or another. Lifting her limbs experimentally she checked out her body. All seemed to still be in working order, except for her head which was still fighting off the fog that had overwhelmed her earlier. A rage bubbled under the surface, she didn't like to be caged. The taste of freedom she had gained since her previous cell had been burned to the ground meant incarceration was something she hated even more violently. She knew what it usually meant, pain, experiments and lots and lots of screaming...both her trial victims' and her own.

Bringing herself into check, she knew that losing her control to blind rage would be unwise, she studied her surrounds. First rule was to assess your position. The glass cubicle didn't hold any magical powers to stop her from mentally savaging anyone in range. She could actually read a number of people but none of them seemed to be even remotely interested in her at the minute. It was a hospital, that much she could get. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her. They hadn't hurt her physically, as far as she could tell. In fact, apart from a little mental subterfuge- a psychic knock out drop in the ether- she hadn't been harmed at all.

Max's drawn features were as tormented as ever. Touching her face gently he told himself that it would all be over soon. He knew her torment, but he had escaped. This girl was most probably their last chance. The harsh reality was that if she couldn't help Max, then the kindest thing would be to dope her into a peaceful afterlife. Alec hadn't told Joshua this, didn't think the big guy needed to know the whole ugly truth, that this was one hell of a long shot in the dark.

He lent down and placed a kiss on her brow. She would have no idea of his presence, he wished he knew she was here for her. Sometimes he envied people like Mia who could get inside people's minds. To talk to them beyond the realm of voice. He wished he could get into Max's mind and fight her demons with her. Nobody should be alone with the sort of torture she had been put through.

They all needed sleep. He felt like he hadn't caught up with a sound sleep in months. He really didn't have time for it now. His brain was telling him that he needed to rest, to be ready to confront the telepath. There was no question that he would need to have his wits about him when he talked to her. Honesty was going to be the best policy. Trying to make her empathize with their plight was gonna be hard. The patented Alec-charm would only get him so far. This girl could read him like a book, literally.

Faces were starting to appear in her mind to accompany the voices she had in her head. There was an air of desperation here. One she herself felt. They wanted something from her, that was why they had stalked her. She still hadn't been able to define exactly what. There were so many voices that held that familiar ring to it. That air of differences that made them stand out in a crowd from the ordinaries. Those smart arses in the NSA would love to know that the transgenic minds gave away their identity even more accurately than their body temperatures.

So where the hell was she? If this wasn't Manticore, why were there so many transgens? She wondered if they suspected the fact that they each had a mental barcode which was just as visible to her as those etched into their skin. They were all so individual in her mind. Reaching she sought out the ones that brought her down.

494. His mind a depressing quagmire she slipped tentatively into.

Alec could feel something. A tingling sensation that woke him from his stupor. He surveyed the room. Mia was long gone, Angel having given her an antidote. Max was still, lying exactly how she had been when he had started to doze off.

In his head words began to form. "Who are you?" The tingling sensation buzzed annoyingly through his head. "Why am I here?" She kept peppering him. Till he let out a scream of frustration.

Their guest was finally awake and impatiently wanting answers. Time to go into battle for Max.


	12. Chapter11: Revelations

**Timebomb Central**

**Chapter 11: Revelations**

_Thank you to Roon and the others at TER for the support_.

Alec wasn't too happy. He'd been summoned. In no uncertain terms, too. Their houseguest had not sounded in the least bit friendly when she was busy burrowing herself into his mind. At least now he had some sort of voice to go with the tiny face he'd seen. She had seemed almost serene in her unconscious state but what would she be like when she up and in action?

Trepidation was ticking away inside him as he attempted to keep calm and keep his mind clear. He didn't have a clue as to how much she could pick up on his thoughts when he was this far away. Given that he hadn't expected her to invade his mind either, he was going to err on the side of caution from now on. Nothing was wrong with that, as long as the girl didn't sense some sort of subterfuge she might still listen.

His first destination. however, was in fact away from quarantine. One thing he had definitely learnt to appreciate since he and Max had been unceremoniously thrown together back at Manticore, sometimes it was easier to have others there to help. In this case, Angel and Mia needed to know what was going on. For one, he didn't want his brain pummeled to mush and nobody being the wiser. Also he needed to have some sort of counsel as to how he should handle the girl. She was more than likely three steps ahead of him. Honesty was obviously going to need to be important, but what could he offer her to make her feel inclined to help? The files they had dug up on the girl spoke volumes. Not in what was written down, but more in what was left out of the reports. She was dangerous, that was most definitely something that wasn't in dispute. They had managed to experience that first hand. What he needed to work out was whether she was malicious and sadistic or maybe just the scared little girl that must be somewhere inside her. Their childhoods had been almost non-existent, but he still remembered moments of fear and how lashing out or doing something to make those that were watching happy was what you did to survive. They just needed to work out the puzzle that was in quarantine before she got too hard to handle.

She could feel him moving away and showed her irritation with this action in a hostile thought. The fact that her hostile thought could at close range kill a man, meant that the distance Alec was away from her was the only thing that saved him. He dropped to his knees, and she smiled, and then she felt him somehow sever the link. Puzzled and not exactly happy with that part of the plan, she did what any normal child would do when thwarted, she threw a tantrum.

The guard peered into the glass walled room with fear. The world seemed to be coming to an end if the sound was any indication. The pandemonium that had broken out startled him. Feathers from the mattress, rags and random items of furniture whirled about the room while the tiny occupant, with a chair leg in hand, was pummeling the shatterproof glass. He hit the alarm buzzer calling for help, unwilling to enter the maelstrom without some sort of back up. The sound of combat boot soles pounding down the corridor seemed to sink into the head of the little girl as he saw her lower her weapon. Then with a cold and scarily calculating smile, which seemed totally foreign on a face so very young, she fixed him with a stare that sent shivers down his spine and his blood ran cold. Her eyes felt like they were boring into his brain and the contents of his skull were beginning to seep out his ears. He felt a drip from his nose and looked down to see blood splattered on the linoleum at his feet. He raised his hands to his ears as fluid began to trickle down his cheek, his fingers came away red. With a final look of disbelief, he slumped unconscious to the ground, just as the reinforcements rounded the hall corner and caught sight of him.

She smiled to herself. Her rage was momentarily spent. She hadn't killed the man, but he'd have one hell of a headache. Just maybe, these people might just realise who she was and what they were dealing with, and then let her the hell out of here. Cages didn't always have bars, these glass walls and isolation served the job just as well. Patience had never been her strong suit and she wasn't gonna let her gratitude towards these people, for not killing her when they had the chance, change that. They'd named her like a house pet. Well she was good and ready to show them what fine claws and teeth she had. The others were wary. Well they should be. She let them retrieve the body of their downed comrade without incident. The silly fools had guns trained on her the whole time. Guns didn't frighten her, but she'd keep that bit of information to herself for now.

Mia and Angel ran into the hall when they heard a shout. A small crowd of trangens were gathered around a fallen figure. Angel ushered them out of the way as she ran forward to kneel at Alec's side. There was a large lump on his forehead which would produce a rather nasty bruise and he was out cold but other than that she could see nothing else wrong with him. Pulling a small vial of fluid out from her coat pocket, she removed the stopper and waved it under his nose. He jerked a little, his eyes opened groggily before he groaned and closed them again. Angel called a couple of the larger Xs forward and got them to carry him into a nearby room. After they placed him on the bed, she got Mia to clear the room. Sitting on the bed next to Alec she tried again to rouse him. His eyelids fluttered but didn't open when she waved the vial under his nose this time. Normally the stuff worked wonders, especially with enhanced sense of smell they had. Calling Mia forward to see what she could do was her next best option.

Alec could hear the people around him, but like a distant far off hum of voices. He tried to tune them out, he preferred the dark and the quiet at the minute. The pain he had blocked out could still be out there and he didn't want it to find him, so he hid. Pushing back against the door that tried to open and trying to forget the images that he had been bombarded with in that instant of agony.

Mia frowned. Something was blocking her from entering Alec brain. She tried again and was once again met with resistance. Turning to Angel she started to tell her that she couldn't make her way into his mind to see what was going on, when a blinding white light hit her between the eyes. Staggering back from the bed a few paces she shook her head to dispel the dizziness. Angel had her arm around her steadying her within seconds.

"That came from him." Mia couldn't keep the shock out of her voice.

Angel was confused. "What, was their something in his mind that hurt you?" She moved Mia towards a chair and sat her down.

Mia tried to get it clear in her mind. What had happened just didn't make sense. Alec hadn't shown any psychic ability before, maybe a little bit of empathy but nothing that would have suggested any power. Manticore was pretty thorough in their assessment of that sort of thing, she'd seen his files and there had been nothing. Yet, only moments before he had not only blocked her, but he had actively rejected her with quite considerable force.

Angel watched the emotions play across the other girl's face. Obviously whatever had happened had been not something Mia was expecting. She gave her a few minutes before she shook her slightly to get some response to her query.

Mia had forgotten all about Angel. She looked at her blankly before she realized she was waiting for an explanation.

"Some how Alec has locked his own mind. I can't get in there." Mia's uncertainty about the situation was clear in her voice.

"Are you sure? Alec isn't capable of telepathy." Angel was totally confused about what had happened.

"Yes, I think I am. It is the only thing that makes sense." Mia looked Angel directly in the eye " I wonder..." She trailed off, her head dropped as she obviously went back into working out the situation in her own head. Angel impatience with the situation was broken by a knock at the door. She moved over and opened it to find a security detail member standing weapon in hand on the other side.

His quick salute she waved off, just wanting to know why he was waving a gun around in her hospital. "Ma'am, thought you should know that the prisoner has awoken and has been causing quite a ruckus. They have her pinned down and under armed guard but she took down the sentry before we could get there." He rattled the information off rapid fire.

Angel glanced back towards the bed and put two and two together, it smelt like trouble. She dismissed the man and sent some other medical staff with him to get her a medical prognosis on the downed guard. This little girl was not going to make things easy. Could she have done something that manifested itself in Alec? She turned to Mia who seemed to have worked through her internal dialogue. A look of unease was on her face.

"I think Alec was a latent telepath." She blurted out, watching the shock on Angel face. She continued on. "He probably also triggered it in some of the others, the madness. Usually it is a trigger word. Maybe he slipped it to them mentally by accident. He even had contact with that one up in Canada didn't he? When he went insane, well..."

"Hold your horses." Angel was beginning to think Mia was off her rocker, no actually she was sure of it. "You're saying this whole damn mess started cause of him?" Angel was incredulous. It seemed such a far fetched story.

Mia shook her head. "Not exactly." She had it straight in her head, she just had to make Angel understand. "Manticore planted the words. They were good at being able to send out signals to trigger the response. Telepath of the strength of our little Hope here could transmit over miles. And there is no more Manticore these days to be coordinating that sort of attack on us. It was the one thing that had me puzzled from the start. I could never work out who had set the time bombs in their skulls ticking".

A noise behind them had both women spinning towards the bed.

Alec sat there stone faced.

"And you're saying that this was all because of me?"


	13. Chapter12: Expectations

**Timebomb Central**

**Chapter 12: Expectations**

_Thank you to Roon and the others at TER for the support_.

The two women were stunned into a moment of silence. Angel moved to quickly to reassure Alec that what he had heard was no accusation.

"No, That isn't what we meant. You've done it all subconsciously. Somehow you have tapped into a part of you even Manticore didn't know about." The guilt on his face broke her heart and it wasn't going to be of any use to start pointing fingers at this stage of the game.

" I think that maybe, somehow, Hope has managed to bring that latent ability to the surface now so it isn't so latent." Mia also tried to calm him. She gave him a sheepish grin. "You managed to surprise me before, I really underestimated you and you're actually pretty strong. Your self defense is pretty impressive... I guess that's the survival instinct kicking in."

He watched the open faces of the two women. They weren't blaming him, they were just musing on how this new development might be related to the whole thing. He relaxed a bit and joined them in their contemplation. "Do you think I could help Max?" Alec let the hopeful thought bubble out.

Mia shock her head after contemplating for a moment. "No, the sort of thing they have done to her isn't pretty. I've had training and I can't break it. You may have ability but it is raw and untrained. Only someone like Hope, who has really strong telepathic ability and the skill to use it, is going to be able to help her. "

Angel chimed in. "You have abilities that appear to be stronger than a lot of people that were in psyops. In fact, I am surprised that they hadn't picked up on it at Manticore. Possibly something traumatic made you repress it successfully enough."

_Probably one too many trips to psyops for psychotic assessment, most likely._ Alec let his grim memories of Manticore's psychological unit rise to the surface. Anger wasn't far behind them.

The rattling of the instruments on the sterile trays around them made Angel and Mia nervous. Alec appeared to have dropped into a trance and the look on his face was murderous. Angel looked to Mia to get some idea of what was happening but the nervous shrug of confusion was her only answer. Angel stepped forward, raised her hand and slapped him hard. It was hard enough that her hand was stinging and throbbing. His head had barely moved but his eyes were starting to register the room around him once again.

Mia face reflected the fact an idea had popped into her head.

"You won't be able to help Max directly but there is something you might be able to do..."

She was sick and tired of this. First they drugged her, now they thought that they had the right to hold her against her will. Enough was enough. These imbeciles thought she feared their weaponry. Her brain assessed the weakest link. This would be a piece of cake. She began to focus, group work had always been a little trickier. A small frown creased her brow, something wasn't right. A fogginess was partially masking the minds surrounding her.

The footsteps outside in the hall heralded a new arrival to the quarantine area. Temporarily distracted by this, Hope let her attempt falter. As the grim man who appeared to be in charge rounded the corner, the armed guards lowered there weapons and stepped away from her. For an instance she thought this might be her chance, until a voice in her head caught her unawares.

"Naughty, naughty." The voice was masculine and held a hint of a smirk. Her head shot up and her eyes searched the approaching men to assess the source. She couldn't reach who ever it was mentally, they had successfully camouflaged themselves. She felt at a loss. Her weapon of choice successfully disarmed.

When he stepped forward, she remembered his face. She remembered his mind too. And how complicated it was inside there. He hadn't had it easy in psyops either. The amount of mental scarring in there was horrendous. She didn't pity him, they all had battle wounds, some were just less obvious. Alec stood before her stone faced. He wasn't too happy either by the looks of things.

"I want you to let me go." She was blunt and to the point. They had no right to hold her.

"Sorry, can't do that." There seemed to be genuine look of regret on the man's face, but it masked something more. "You're a danger to yourself and the people around you." He paced away from her obviously thinking hard. He stopped suddenly and spun around.

"Why'd you take the guard down?" His question wasn't what she had been expecting. She'd been thinking he'd go along the line of trying to find out her name, some softening questions to get her guard down. Instead he was heading for the real questions. Somehow that made her feel a little bit better. The subterfuge of social conversation was much more dangerous than honest .

"I wanted you to know I was still here. I don't like being ignored." Her simple answer brought a small smile to Alec's face.

"Oh, we knew you were here. But be warned throwing a tantrum isn't the best way to get my attention. Especially the ways things have been going around here. People are enough on edge and someone is likely to snap."

He ushered her into a room with more comfortable looking seating. Moving across to a tray with a jug of water and glasses he offered her refreshment. She didn't need to be psychic to know that he was trying to convince her of his good intentions. He wanted something from her, she couldn't read what but she was sure he'd tell her in his own time. This gave her something to work with. If she was of some use then she could bargain with him.

She took the glass he handed to her and watched him over the rim as she took a sip. He wasn't old, but he appeared to be aged. Somehow something had happened here to take these Manticore soldiers from youthful soldiers to battle hardened men in such a short space of time. He paced like a big cat back and forth across the faded linoleum before finally he settled into a chair in the middle of the room. He looked her in the face for the first time since they had entered the room.

"What is your name?" He let it slip out even though he had been avoiding it. The smirk on her face told him she had been expecting the question. As much as he liked her to feel comfortable he didn't want her feeling too comfortable and definitely not to feel in control of the situation. Making a mental note to not be so predictable, he smiled winningly at her and saw her smirk falter. "We gave you a name, but I am sure you'd prefer to be called by one you had bestowed on yourself." He felt her surprise that they had thought of a name for her.

"I haven't got one." She shrugged but there was some pain behind her nonchalant expression. "I didn't need one. I have a designation and that has been alright up until now." She almost sounded sulky when she spat it out at him. A petulant child who wanted to be heard but up until now had be largely ignored. This wasn't going how she wanted it. She didn't have the control that she was used to and it freaked her a bit. Not knowing what someone was thinking made her feel vulnerable. Not knowing what was in the mind of someone who had you captive and was possibly your enemy was worse.

"Well, designation are all well and good, but here," Alec waved his hand around to indicate T.C. "Here, we are individuals not some number in a group of thousands." He had piqued her curiosity. A twinkle in her eye sparked. 'We've given you the name Hope but if you don't like it we can find you another."

"Where is here...who are you people...what the hell do you want with me?" The rapid fire questions came out before she could stop them. Her hands covered her mouth as she realised how he had dragged out of her the need for knowledge. She didn't like to show weakness but without any torture he had caused her to drop her guard. She waited for him to take the advantage, but instead he smiled and pulled his chair over closer to hers. Leaning forward with his elbows on his knees he seemed to be considering what he would tell her.

"I have a friend. A very good friend, who isn't doing so well." He began the back story telling her of the deaths and the confusion and how it had all come to be this far away from the walls of Manticore. Then he told her of his own experience and how Mia has managed to free him.

The name rang no bells, but the number. She saw the images. She remembered that barcode. They had made sure she would never forget it. And associated in her mind with this face was one thing, pain and suffering. They had run before she had been born but she had still known it was their fault for the pain she was forced to endure, it had to be someone's fault. Manticore had told her who to blame.

With a look of pure hatred on her face, Hope faced Alec. The windows around them began to shake as Hope let a rage pass through her. Her voice came out in stereo.

"Tell me why should I help a traitor?"


	14. Chapter 13: Despair and Desperation

**Timebomb Central**

**Chapter 13: Despair and ****Desperation**

She didn't see it coming. He was too fast. The sound of the slap rang around the room. Shock stopped her abruptly and silence fell heavy in the air apart from the heavy breathing of the two over hyped transgenics in the room. Alec's handsome face was twisted in anger. She cowered back from him, for once feeling totally overwhelmed by another being. He was like a huge black cloud in her mind, one that threatened to consume her. A small whimper escaped from her lips.

The tiny figure which had seemed only moments ago to be threatening to rip the place apart was now nothing more than a little frightened girl. Alec backed away. He didn't want to become them. Fear was not his weapon. She was trained to hate Max, she'd been tortured into believing that Max was evil. Clenching his fists by his side and fighting the urge to shake some sense into the girl, he turned on his heel and strode away. He needed to think, to regroup, to find some way to convince Hope that she was doing the right thing by helping Max.

Striding down the hall, he caught glimpses out the of the corner of his eye. People moved back, they saw his conflict. They saw his frustration. Heads dropped in despair as he passed. A lot of faith had been placed on his getting Hope to help, that obviously wasn't going well. He reached her room and hesitated before pushing the door open.

The pale sheen glistening on her skin always made him feel cold. Her stillness, now from the induced coma state they were keeping her in, reminded him too much of what the alternatives were if he couldn't convince Hope to change her mind. Moving across the room silently, as though not to disturb her sleep, he came to stand over her rigid form. He let the palm of his hand cup her cheek. She was warm, reminding him that whatever else, the fight to save her wasn't yet over.

Hope fumed. He'd tried to play her, he'd had the audacity to believe he could make her save that traitor. Even now as she thought of that number 452- all she could see was red. The room around her was littered with reminders of just how angry she had gotten. She was embarrassed that she had let him frighten her into submission. It made her angrier that she had been helpless even if it was only for a few seconds. The coward had walked away from it.

As she began to calm, she realised the emotional ambience in the makeshift hospital had changed. Whereas before there had been fear, suspicion and even hope, now there was anger and despair.

"Good. Let the bitch die." She spat the words at the walls. Yet, her mind was playing tricks on her. It was beginning to think through all the things that had been happening since she'd left the confines of Manticore. Her gut response was that, given the chance, she would have killed their precious Max herself, but something was niggling like a little worm under the surface. She shook her head and got to her feet. Maybe if she kept moving she could escape from the path of logic her brain was beginning to travel down.

A quiet muffled mumbling woke Alec. He lifted his head and remembered where he was. He couldn't help himself, his eyes darted to her face, but the serene stillness remained. His hand, that had clasped hers in his sleep, tightened. Disappointed he turned to seek the source of the disturbance.

Beyond the door, standing in the hall, stood Angel. The look of resignation on her face had his heart plummeting. Angel had been a pillar of determination through all of this. For her to have given up, that was a bad bad sign. He hadn't expected the Manticore conditioning to bite back so hard with Hope. There had been problems at Terminal City with that sort of thinking when they had all first come together but desperation had overcome it, as well as Max's determination to save them all. He'd forgotten how much he'd had to overcome from his own conditioning when he first had to deal with her in that cell so very long ago. That's why they had convinced him to betray her, to get her to work as the carrier to infect Logan. Max had never really forgiven him for that, but she had understood the sort of mind games they had all been subjected to.

Leaning down next to Max's ear, he could feel her gentle breath on his cheek. "I owe you Maxie. I will get her understand, to appreciate being free of Manticore, just like you taught me." He kissed her cheek and reluctantly released her hand. Rearranging his expression to be as determined and positive as he could muster, he turned to Angel. She tried to respond. He saw the effort to force a look of grim determination. She was a good doctor, a good friend. He and Max were lucky she'd made it to T.C., not just for her medical knowledge, as much for her steadying influence.

She silenced him and indicated that they should talk in her office. There were too many ears in the hall. They didn't want to keep secrets but it was important to not let hope get dashed in everyone. Wanting to stay with Max but knowing he and Angel needed to talk he followed the Doctor through to her room. Closing the door behind him, Alec let out a sigh. Angel could see things hadn't gone well but he needed to brainstorm with her about ways to overcome the conditioning as quickly as he could.

"I have bad news." Alec's eyes rose to meet hers abruptly. He couldn't think what further set back she had to tell him about. She passed him Max's file. They were still monitoring her closely. Keeping an eye on her blood work . He saw what had her worried, it was just the sort of bad timing that they seemed to be destined for. The hormone charts were all over the place, and her oestrogen level was through the roof.

"Ok, so what is this going to mean?" He was confused. " She can't physically jump anyone while she is in a coma." Obviously Angel thought it was significant, he just wanted to be sure what they were going to be dealing with.

"Firstly, it isn't her I am worried about. There is a reason I have confined all male personnel to the other buildings. Even the guards on Hope have been changed to a female contingent. " Alec was surprised, he hadn't noticed, or had he? He knew he was feeling very possessive of Max, he had just put it down to concern, and he hadn't felt the need to defend her from male challengers. That would have been a problem, males fighting to guard the comatose woman.

"Secondly, her fluctuating hormone levels will make it hard to maintain her in the state she is currently in." Alec looked alarmed, he knew exactly what it was like to suffer through this. What Mia had managed to do with Max had given them time. Time that was rapidly running out. Angel confirmed it for him ."There is a high chance that as her heat takes hold she will end up with dreams. We can't slow down her deterioration, in fact this may speed up as her metabolism rate rises."

Alec was out of his seat and at the door before Angel could get him to stop and think, his instincts had kicked in and were going to make this all a little bit harder. "X5-494. Halt". She had been reduced to basic training to get through to him. Angel knew things were desperate enough without Alec charging off on some pheromone induced quest. They needed to keep a clear head. That meant keeping him away from Max, which in his current frame of mind wasn't going to be easy. She needed to get him to focus if they were going to have any chance to get the psyops kid to cooperate. Angel had heard how badly it had gone. The guards had been debriefed when they had been replaced.

Alec turned in time to see the tranquilliser in Angel's hand. His brain was too slow to realise what it meant. As he slumped to the ground, his eyes watched Angel moved to stand over him, before they drowsily closed. Angel signalled for the two females that had been outside waiting to come and collect him.

Fightening off the feelings of despair she set off towards Hope's room. She mightn't be able to do any good but she couldn't just sit round watching.

Hope knew someone was coming. It wasn't him. In fact, she couldn't sense him at all. Standing up ready to confront the intruder she was surprised to see the woman. A woman she knew from her old life. A memory from behind the walls.

"Are you happy to see me?"

The look on Angel's face was of stunned shock as she realised exactly who the little girl was.


End file.
